Human Impact Project

Leticia Jacobo, a 24-year-old Native American woman, was jailed in Iowa for a traffic infraction and faced potential transfer to an ICE Detention Center for deportation. Indigenous rights groups intervened to prevent her deportation.

San Diego Humane Society has taken in 18 pets from 11 owners since June 2025, operating at 173% capacity. Animals including Tita, a 4-year-old Chihuahua whose owners were deported, and Cata, a pit bull mix found in Mira Mesa after her owner's deportation, are among those left behind. The county Department of Animal Services has also received pets from deported individuals.

A 26-year-old St. Paul man is federally charged with assaulting an ICE agent after allegedly ramming his car into the agent's vehicle on Nov. 25 while fleeing an immigration arrest at a St. Paul home. According to a federal affidavit, agents had come to arrest another man living there when he fled in his car, struck the agent's vehicle, then returned to the home and ran inside. He has since pleaded not guilty and was released from jail. The raid drew demonstrators who threw rocks and bricks, and St. Paul police responded with chemical irritants and projectiles, injuring several photojournalists.

Two 16-year-old Venezuelan cousins were detained by ICE agents during a raid on their Detroit home in late November 2025. The teens arrived in the U.S. in 2023 and were formally seeking asylum with valid work permits. Both were students at Western International High School, where a teacher described one cousin as an excellent student eager to learn English. One cousin worked at Chili's. During the raid, agents also detained two of the teens' parents while searching for a different individual. All four family members were transferred to the South Texas Family Residential Center in Texas, hundreds of miles from their support network. Both teens had pending asylum cases scheduled for immigration court. Community members, students, and advocates held a rally at Clark Park calling for their immediate release.

Genesis Valadez, owner of Las Pollitas food truck, captured footage on her business cameras of a federal raid on an unauthorized nightclub near Basse Road and San Pedro Avenue in San Antonio. The operation on November 17, 2025, involved 14 state, local, and federal agencies and resulted in the arrest of more than 150 people, including 27 alleged members of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang. Video from Valadez's cameras shows federal agents using flash bangs and smoke bombs, zip-tying detainees, and intentionally destroying a neighbor's surveillance camera. The raid also resulted in the seizure of three guns, cocaine, and approximately $35,000 in cash. Valadez and other lawful business owners operating food trucks in the area were forced to relocate due to community fear following the operation.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted enforcement operations in Long Beach on Thursday, resulting in at least nine detentions at workplaces. Mayor Rex Richardson and Supervisor Janice Hahn commented on the operations, with Richardson referencing a violent incident involving a gardener at a restaurant. DHS stated six people in the country without authorization from Mexico were arrested who had prior criminal histories.

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.

ICE conducted operations at six locations in Long Beach on November 20, 2025, detaining at least nine people. One detention involved a gardener who was chased and attacked inside Polly's Pies restaurant in front of customers and dining police officers. Local elected officials and community organizations issued criticism regarding ICE's enforcement tactics.

Nine people were detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents during an immigration enforcement sweep in the Raleigh area on November 19, 2025, and held overnight at New Hanover County jail in Castle Hayne. The nine detainees, consisting of one woman and eight men ranging in age from 24 to 59, were transferred to an undisclosed location on November 20, 2025. ICE officials did not disclose to jail staff the reasons for the detentions or the destination of the detainees. This operation was part of a broader U.S. Border Patrol enforcement surge that began in Charlotte over the weekend, which had resulted in more than 250 arrests by the time of this article.

Jeffrey Suazo, 26, a Honduran national who came to the United States four years ago fleeing persecution, was detained by federal immigration agents on November 25, 2025, during an operation at his home in St. Paul. Suazo, who works as a house painter and is the breadwinner for his household, was leaving for work at the same time as a tenant who was the target of the operation. According to his family, agents surrounded both vehicles in unmarked cars and pursued Suazo when he drove back to his house; he was held inside for five hours while more than 200 community members gathered outside to protest. His family stated that agents did not present a warrant, threatened to force entry, and used manipulation tactics including taunting Suazo in Spanish and mentioning his girlfriend's 6-year-old sister to pressure him to leave the house. Federal immigration officials filed a criminal complaint charging Suazo with assaulting a federal officer. His family describes him as a devoted partner to his girlfriend Deylin, a caring person with no criminal involvement, and essential to his household's financial stability.

Border Patrol detained Moises Benitez Diaz, a 27-year-old Raleigh construction contractor, on November 18 during Operation Charlotte's Web. His wife Esmeralda Escobar, who is 8 months pregnant, is now managing the family business while he is held at a Georgia facility. Despite DHS claiming he was a criminal convicted of felony larceny, court records show his charges were dismissed and he completed a misdemeanor diversion agreement.

On July 4, 2025, roughly a dozen people demonstrated at the Prairieland ICE detention center in Texas, and gunfire erupted during a police response with one officer reportedly injured. Nineteen people were charged with material support for terrorism, rioting, and other federal crimes. On February 17, 2026, U.S. District Court Judge Mark Pittman declared a mistrial during jury selection in the case involving nine defendants, citing an attorney's attire. Jury selection is scheduled to resume on February 24, 2026.

Carlos Jimenez, a 24-25-year-old U.S. citizen and food bank worker with three children, was shot in the shoulder by ICE agents on October 30, 2025, during an enforcement action in Ontario near an elementary school bus stop on Baseline Avenue. According to Jimenez's legal team, he approached the officers to warn them that children would soon arrive at the nearby school bus stop, and was shot from behind while attempting to leave the scene after an agent drew a gun and pepper spray. Federal authorities maintain Jimenez reversed his vehicle toward officers in a threatening manner, prompting defensive gunfire. A bullet remains lodged in his right shoulder, and bullet fragments remain in his torso, causing ongoing pain. Jimenez was arrested and charged with assault on a federal officer but was released on bond and has pleaded not guilty. The incident is under investigation by the Department of Homeland Security and FBI. His attorneys argue the shooting reflects a broader pattern of escalated ICE enforcement tactics.

U.S. Border Patrol agents arrived at an east Charlotte church on Saturday while about 15-20 congregants were doing yard work. Agents detained one man who was outside. His wife and child were inside the church. Church members reported that agents showed no identification and asked no questions before making the arrest.

Two homeschooled brothers, Sam (16) and Ben (17) Luhmann, have been patrolling West Chicago and surrounding areas since mid-September to document federal immigration enforcement activity during Operation Midway Blitz. The brothers have had numerous encounters with ICE agents and have been threatened with arrest while documenting their activities. Their efforts represent part of a broader youth activism movement against the enforcement operation across the Chicago area.

A 33-year-old Queens woman reported that ICE agents raided her apartment on November 13, 2025 at 5:30 a.m. while searching for her cousin on a criminal arrest warrant. The woman claims agents forced entry, grabbed her by the hair, and pointed guns at her three children when the family attempted to record. ICE stated they knocked for 20 minutes before lawfully entering when no response was received.

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.

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.

A 16-year-old high school student and mariachi musician in Oxnard describes two separate immigration raids on his family occurring four months apart. His mother was detained during the Glasshouse Farms raid in July, and months later ICE agents returned and took his father and uncle outside their Oxnard home.

Nine employees at Allston Car Wash in Boston—Hector Valladares, Felicita Valladares, Vanessa Vasquez Valladares, Clarisa Aguilon, Heidy Aguilon, Yuli Magali Mendez Luarca, Pablo Oseas Lopez, Dairo Preciado, and Jose P. Enriquez Sagastume—were detained by more than 22 ICE agents on November 4, 2025. All nine workers held valid work permits at the time of their arrest. According to business manager Jose Barrera, agents arrived with subpoenas and detained the workers before allowing them to retrieve their work permits from their lockers. Attorney Todd Pomerleau reported that detainees held at ICE's Boston field office in Burlington experienced mistreatment, including being denied food and shower access for several days, and that one detainee was allegedly transferred to Texas in violation of a court order. Seven of the detained workers subsequently filed a federal tort claim through Boston Lawyers for Civil Rights alleging unlawful arrest, racial profiling based on their Latino and Spanish-speaking status, and mistreatment in custody including shackling, transport to multiple detention facilities, and denial of access to phones, legal counsel, and medications. The complaint seeks $1 million in compensation per worker plus legal fees.