HUMSI — Human Security Initiative

Human Impact Project

A living database documenting reported immigration enforcement incidents and their human impact.

We collect individual stories of people impacted by U.S. immigration enforcement from news reporting, court records, and community accounts into one searchable public database, updated daily and reviewed by our team. The Human Impact Project is run by the Human Security Initiative, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

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419 incidents with known locations

American citizens detained for warning community about ICE agents

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Nov 26, 2025San Diego, CA

A person warned their community that ICE agents were staging outside houses and then parked at a trolley station to observe. When ICE agents returned to the station, they attempted to detain the person, who fled because the agents were masked and refused to identify themselves. The person claims to be an American citizen and states that other people were also detained at the scene.

ICE agents chase and detain gardener inside Long Beach restaurant

Nov 20, 2025Long Beach, CAColombia

Federal immigration agents detained a gardener in Long Beach's University Park Estates neighborhood after chasing him into Polly's Pies restaurant and tackling him in front of two off-duty Long Beach Police Department officers, who did not intervene after recognizing the operation as federal immigration enforcement. The man claimed to be a dual citizen and showed agents an identification card during the encounter. Restaurant staff who knew him contacted his family, and a local business improvement district board member retrieved the keys to his work truck for them. Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson criticized the operation as an "abduction," saying it reflected "a pattern of enforcement rooted in fear and intimidation." Agents also arrested three people outside Cherry Donuts and were reported at four additional locations that morning, including a church and intersections along Pacific Coast Highway.

Agents raid plaza, shoppers hide in fear

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Nov 20, 2025Los Angeles California

ICE conducted a raid at a Koreatown plaza in Los Angeles. A security guard at the location reported that approximately 10 people were detained during the operation. The guard stated that shoppers were present at businesses in the plaza including Speakeasy Fitness and Food 4 Less.

U.S. Citizens Testify to Congress About ICE Apprehension and Shooting

Nov 19, 2025Minneapolis, MN; Chicago, IL

Two U.S. citizens, Aliya Rahman and Marimar Martinez, testified before Congress about their experiences being apprehended by ICE. Rahman, who is disabled, was forcibly removed from her car while en route to a medical appointment in Minneapolis and denied medical care in detention. Martinez was shot five times by ICE agents in Chicago while attempting to warn neighbors about ICE presence in the area.

Federal agents arrest man documenting immigration enforcement in Charlotte

Nov 19, 2025Charlotte, NC

Federal immigration agents arrested a man in a parking lot at Eastway Crossing shopping center in Charlotte while he was documenting their activities. The man, Joshua Long, was released from an FBI office six hours later. DHS claimed he was arrested for vehicular assault against a federal agent, which Long disputed.

Border Patrol breaks car window, arrests two U.S. citizens in Charlotte

Nov 18, 2025Charlotte, NC

Two U.S. citizen women were arrested by Border Patrol agents in Charlotte after allegedly honking their horn to alert others of agents' presence in the area during Operation Charlotte Web. An agent used an assault rifle to break the driver's window, and both women were handcuffed with zip ties and removed from the vehicle. They were taken to an FBI building and released later that day, charged with 18 USC 111 for allegedly impeding a federal officer.

LAUSD senior detained by ICE while walking dog, released after months in custody

Nov 17, 2025Van Nuys, CAChile

Benjamin Marcelo Guerrero-Cruz, an 18-year-old rising senior at Reseda Charter High School, was detained by federal immigration agents on August 8, 2025, while walking his family's dog in Van Nuys. A neighbor said masked agents in unmarked vests labeled "immigration police" took him, leaving the dog loose in an alley. He was held at a Los Angeles detention center before being transferred to a facility in Arizona on August 26, awaiting deportation proceedings. Educators, former teachers and community activists rallied outside LAUSD headquarters on August 19 demanding his release so he could return to school, while his family, including four younger siblings who missed him, started a GoFundMe to support him. An immigration judge granted him bond on November 17, and he was released and reunited with his family just before Thanksgiving after months in custody.

Green card holder detained and pushed to ground by federal agents in Melrose Park

Nov 15, 2025Melrose Park, IL

Antonio Enriquez, 53, a lawful permanent resident, was walking to a store in Melrose Park when federal agents in unmarked vehicles demanded to see his documents. When he told them his green card and documents were at home, agents ignored his pleas and pushed him to the ground, handcuffing him after he resisted. He was taken to an ICE facility and held for six hours until his daughter brought copies of his green card and Social Security card.

U.S. citizen and undocumented father detained by federal agents while shopping in Little Village

Nov 15, 2025Chicago, IL

A U.S. citizen in his early 20s and his undocumented father were stopped by federal agents while walking to La Chiquita grocery store in Little Village to buy carne asada and beans. Both men were arrested and transported to the ICE facility in Broadview. The son was later released but said agents dismissed his pleas that his younger brother has epilepsy and needs their father's care. The father remains in ICE detention out of state. The son requested anonymity to protect his father from potential retaliation.

Immigration Feds Grab Man From Car in Manhattan

Nov 12, 2025Washington Heights, NY

A man was forcibly removed from a car by federal immigration officers near West 157th Street and Broadway in Washington Heights on Wednesday morning around 8:15 a.m. The officers, including some appearing to be Homeland Security Investigations agents, placed the man into an unmarked black SUV. No immediate information was available about the person's identity or the reason for the detention.

ICE agents spotted detaining person in van during morning operation

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Nov 11, 2025Seattle, WAHonduras

An Instagram post reports ICE agents forcibly placing a person into a van at 7:50 AM near 148th Avenue Southeast and Southeast 16th Street. The person was reportedly pleading for help in Spanish while being detained. Bystanders observed the incident but did not intervene or identify the individual.

ICE accused of pepper-spraying 1-year-old girl and father near Chicago

Nov 11, 2025Chicago, IL

Rafael Veraza and his 1-year-old daughter were allegedly pepper-sprayed by ICE agents in a Chicago suburb while the family was going grocery shopping. The incident occurred last week, and the family held a news conference to discuss the alleged use of force. The Department of Homeland Security has disputed the allegation.

1-year-old pepper-sprayed by federal agent in Cicero

Nov 8, 2025Cicero, IL

Federal agents sprayed pepper spray from a moving vehicle at a line of cars exiting a Sam's Club parking lot in Cicero on Saturday morning, striking a 1-year-old child among other occupants. Video footage shows a masked federal agent firing chemical irritants through open car windows.

U.S. citizen arrested in Cypress Park ICE raid, separated from toddler, later released

Nov 6, 2025Cypress Park, CA

Dennis Quiñonez, a 32-year-old U.S. citizen, was arrested during a DHS immigration enforcement operation at a Home Depot parking lot in Cypress Park on November 4, 2025. ICE agents took his 1-year-old daughter into custody during the arrest; she was returned to her grandmother several hours later with a dirty diaper, a bruise and a rash, after the family provided a birth certificate. Quiñonez was released on bond on November 6, 2025, and reunited with his daughter and family. He has been charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a person previously convicted of domestic violence, and DHS said the broader operation led to the arrests of five undocumented immigrants from Mexico and Guatemala.

ICE arrests seven people in Redmond, Washington, prompting camera shutdown

Nov 4, 2025Redmond, WA

ICE conducted arrests at multiple locations in Redmond, Washington, including at Bear Creek Village shopping center, detaining seven people in total. One incident involved a man being detained outside a Panera Bread, with witnesses reporting that ICE agents broke a truck window and dragged out the occupant without showing a warrant. The Redmond Police Department confirmed it was not informed in advance of the operations and stated it does not participate in immigration enforcement. At least three of the arrests occurred less than a mile from the city's Flock Safety surveillance cameras, prompting Redmond police to suspend officers' access to the camera system amid concerns the data could be sought by federal agencies.

Charges dropped against protester accused of assaulting Border Patrol chief after video contradicts his account

Nov 3, 2025Chicago, IL

Cole Sheridan, a 27-year-old hospitality worker, was arrested during an October 3 pro-immigrant protest at the Broadview, Illinois immigration enforcement facility after U.S. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino accused him of pushing and swinging at him. Sheridan faced federal charges of assaulting, resisting, and impeding a federal officer, spent three days in custody, and said the ordeal cost him four days of work and a month of anxiety over potential imprisonment. An investigator noted Bovino took two weeks of leave citing a groin injury he claimed to have sustained in the encounter. After a friend located video footage from an October 31 news report showing Sheridan being pushed down and not near Bovino, prosecutors moved to dismiss the charges on November 3, though they could still refile. Sheridan said the footage proved there was no altercation as described in the criminal complaint, adding Bovino's account 'means nothing.' Other cases against Chicago-area protesters and immigrants involving similar discrepancies in Bovino's accounts have also been dismissed.

ICE detains U.S. citizen for 7 hours after photographing agents

Nov 3, 2025Gresham, OR

Berenice Garcia-Hernandez, a 25-year-old U.S. citizen, was detained by ICE for approximately seven hours after photographing unmarked ICE vehicles near a Chick-fil-A in Gresham. She was documenting the agents' presence to warn her community after seeing a Facebook alert. ICE agents broke her car window and removed her from the vehicle, though no criminal charges had been filed as of the article's publication.

Construction worker hospitalized with head wounds after agents choked and struck him on bicycle

Nov 2, 2025Melrose Park, ILMexico

Ricardo Rodriguez, a 53-year-old construction worker and father of two deaf teenagers, was arrested by federal agents on Sunday morning in Melrose Park, Illinois while riding his bicycle home from a grocery store. According to video footage, agents grabbed him in a stranger's driveway, pepper-sprayed him, placed him in a chokehold, and struck his head. He was gasping and saying 'Por favor, amigo' during the encounter. Rodriguez was taken to Gottlieb Memorial Hospital with head wounds and complaints of chest pains. While hospitalized, federal agents restricted visitation from his U.S. citizen sister and other family members.

Federal agents deploy tear gas against Chicago protesters during immigration enforcement operations

Nov 1, 2025Chicago, IL

Federal immigration agents, including ICE and Border Patrol personnel, deployed tear gas and other riot control weapons against protesters during enforcement operations in Chicago and Illinois beginning in September 2025. On October 14, 2025, Border Patrol agents pursued a vehicle on Chicago's East Side, using a precision immobilization technique (PIT maneuver) to stop it at the intersection of 105th and Avenue N, resulting in a collision. Two undocumented immigrants fled on foot and were arrested. When residents gathered to protest the operation, federal agents deployed tear gas, exposing 13 Chicago police officers to the gas. A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order on October 9 limiting crowd-control tactics, but subsequent court filings alleged violations occurring almost daily. An analysis of 28 protest events found seven instances of riot control weapons use without apparent threats and 19 instances of excessive force.

Man struck by CBP agent in Evanston says he was denied medical care

Oct 31, 2025Evanston, IL

A CBP agent was recorded on video on October 31, 2025, repeatedly striking a 27-year-old Chicago man while he was pinned down near Oakton and Asbury in Evanston following a car crash and confrontation between agents and residents. Body-worn camera footage shows him telling officers he needed medical attention, which he did not receive during about five hours in federal custody. He was later charged with assaulting, resisting and impeding federal officers and was not required to post bond. Two other citizens detained in the incident were released without charges after a similar period in custody.