Human Impact Project

Robby Roadsteamer, a comedian and activist, was shot with pepper-spray balls by ICE officers on a rooftop and then detained at an ICE facility in Portland, Oregon while dressed as a giraffe and singing modified protest songs. He was cited for failing to comply with orders and trespassing, and plans to sue ICE and the Department of Homeland Security.

Reggie Williams, a 39-year-old Black artist, was stopped by Memphis police officers while walking to a nearby store on October 15, 2025. After initial questioning, four armed federal agents in an unmarked SUV with rifles and body armor but no identifying badges descended on him and conducted an aggressive interrogation. An armed agent asked if he was from Ethiopia or Ghana. Williams said he believed he would not have made it home safely without his birth certificate and state ID. He was not arrested or ticketed but reported feeling terrorized during the encounter, which occurred as part of Trump's Memphis Safe Task Force operation.

A 15-year-old U.S. citizen was detained by Customs and Border Patrol agents on Chicago's East Side after federal agents deployed tear gas at a crash scene. According to his attorneys, the teen was slammed to the ground, zip-tied, and held in a garage for five hours without being booked, read his rights, or allowed to contact his mother. DHS stated the teen was arrested for allegedly throwing an egg at an agent, taken to an FBI field office where he admitted to the action, and released without charges. A 16-year-old U.S. citizen born and raised in Chicago was arrested and body-slammed by federal immigration agents during the East Side operation. His mother, Juanita Garnica, reported receiving a call that her son had been beaten, body-slammed, and taken into custody, but was not informed of his whereabouts or status. He was among multiple people arrested during the federal operation and subsequent protest.

Four U.S. citizen cemetery workers at Concordia Cemetery were arrested and subjected to pepper balls and pepper spray during an ICE operation that crossed onto private property. The workers were detained for hours before being released without charges. Forest Park Mayor Rory Hoskins made statements regarding the operation and requested its termination.

US Border Patrol agents pursued a vehicle driven by a person in the country illegally and used a precision immobilization technique that caused the vehicle to crash into other cars on Chicago's far southeast side. The incident led to a confrontation with federal agents at the scene.

Maria Greeley, a 44-year-old U.S. citizen and Chicago resident born at Illinois Masonic Hospital, was detained by three masked federal agents outside the Beach Bar on Ohio Street after finishing a double shift in early October 2025. The agents restrained her with zip ties and questioned her for approximately one hour, challenging the authenticity of her passport and telling her she "doesn't look like" her last name Greeley, despite her carrying documentation proving her citizenship. After about an hour, the agents released her. Following the incident, Greeley reported experiencing psychological distress and said she felt compelled to "lay low."

Warren King, a 19-year-old U.S. citizen born and raised in Chicago, was tackled and arrested by federal immigration agents at a Walgreens store on the East Side during an operation targeting undocumented immigrants. King was shopping with friends and family when agents swarmed the store; he was arrested despite repeatedly telling agents he was a U.S. citizen and legally in the country. He was held for hours before being released without charges, left with physical and mental injuries from the takedown.

A car fleeing from U.S. Border Patrol agents crashed on West Paisano Drive in El Paso, killing two migrants from Guatemala and Mexico. The 2011 Infiniti G37 lost control on a curve, hit a curb and flipped after the driver attempted to flee following a border crossing. Four other passengers were injured in the rollover crash.

Debbie Brockman, a creative services employee at Chicago's WGN-TV and a U.S.-born citizen, was detained by Border Patrol agents on a Friday near Lincoln and Foster avenues while walking to catch a bus to work. Agents rammed their van into a car before detaining her, and she was held in federal custody for about seven hours before being released the same day with no charges filed. Her attorneys say she was "violently detained" and deny she assaulted anyone, while Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino said agents claimed she threw a metal object at them; DHS said agents struck a vehicle blocking their path amid "violent agitators." Bystanders described the arrest as violent, and her lawyers say she plans to pursue legal action. Her arrest came amid a federal judge's temporary restraining order barring DHS agents from arresting journalists without probable cause.

Rueben Antonio Cruz, a 60-year-old lawful permanent resident from El Salvador, was stopped by ICE agents in Rogers Park and detained in an ICE vehicle while agents questioned him. After verifying through their databases that he was legally in the country, agents released him but issued him a $130 ticket for not carrying proof of permanent resident registration on his person. Cruz, a former dishwasher living in a government-funded apartment due to health issues, was given 60 days to pay the fine or face court.

José Medina, a 35-year-old tamal vendor, was arrested by immigration authorities on October 8, 2025, while selling tamales at a 7-Eleven in San Pedro. After his detention, his family feared additional raids and stayed home with 720 unsold tamales. Community members, including artist Rubén Ochoa and his girlfriend, mobilized to sell the tamales through personal deliveries. Medina signed a deportation order and was in Tijuana by October 10, leaving his family behind.

A U.S. citizen was detained by federal agents during the Brighton Park immigration enforcement operation on October 4, 2025. According to Alderman Julia Ramirez, the man was driving one of the vehicles involved in the incident with Border Patrol agents. His mother, Elizabeth Ruiz, stated her 21-year-old son was being held in an ICE vehicle and had nothing to do with the confrontation. At least one other protester was also detained during the clashes that followed the shooting.

A video circulating on social media shows DHS agents arresting a woman outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles on October 4, 2025. The woman was arrested after she allegedly blocked a federal facility entrance and refused to comply with officers' orders. The woman's clothing became disheveled during the arrest. A witness account suggested the woman had pulled over to ask for directions.

A woman was shot by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Brighton Park on Chicago's Southwest Side near South 35th Street and California Avenue. According to DHS, agents claimed they were rammed by 10 vehicles and boxed in, and fired defensive shots after discovering the woman was armed with a semi-automatic weapon. The woman drove herself to Mount Sinai Hospital, was treated for her wounds, and discharged. The shooting sparked a protest of approximately 100 people, during which federal agents deployed tear gas and pepper balls. A woman was shot by Border Patrol agents during a protest outside the ICE detention facility in Broadview. According to DHS, agents claimed they were "rammed by vehicles and boxed in by 10 cars" and fired defensive shots when a suspect attempted to run them over. The agency stated one driver who rammed the law enforcement vehicle was armed with a semi-automatic weapon. The woman drove herself to the hospital for treatment and was later released according to Chicago police.

Emmanuel González García, a 15-year-old with intellectual disability, speech impediment, and partial deafness, went missing on October 4, 2025, after wandering from his mother Maria García's fruit stand in northwest Houston. Houston Fire Department found him the next day, but Houston Police Department failed to link him to his mother's missing-person report due to a name discrepancy and instead contacted ICE, which transferred him to the Office of Refugee Resettlement. Maria had no way to know her son's location for five days until an immigration attorney called the missing-persons hotline on his behalf, and he underwent emergency appendicitis surgery while in custody. Emmanuel remained in federal detention for a total of 48 days despite his mother's pleas for his release, during which members of a local group, Autism Moms of Houston, held nightly vigils outside the facility in support.

Mario Guevara, an Emmy-award-winning Spanish-language journalist who lived in Atlanta for nearly 22 years with a valid work permit, was arrested on June 14, 2025, while live-streaming a 'No Kings' protest in DeKalb County, Georgia, and charged with obstruction, unlawful assembly, and improperly entering a roadway. Though a judge granted him bond, ICE placed a hold on him and he spent over 100 days in detention, including up to 22 hours daily in solitary confinement, separated from his wife and children. A federal judge questioned the legality of his detention, and the ACLU and his attorneys argued it violated his constitutional rights to free speech and due process, while the government claimed broad discretion to detain him and denied targeting him for his journalism, citing a decade-old removal order. The Bureau of Immigration Appeals ordered his removal on September 19, and he was deported to El Salvador on October 3, 2025, after which he continued working as a journalist, reporting from Central America and speaking at international press freedom conferences.

Oak Park Township Trustee Juan Munoz was arrested outside the Broadview ICE facility on October 3, 2025, while protesting in a designated protest-free zone, and detained for about eight hours without being told why or what he was accused of. He testified on January 22, 2026, before the HART Truth-Telling Commission that then-Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino tackled him to the ground, that he was questioned by FBI agents without an attorney present, and that detainees had to share shoes taken from them during processing because conditions inside were unsanitary. Munoz said he was used as a backdrop for an interview Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem gave to a social media influencer, calling it propaganda, and said tactics he has observed used recently in Minnesota are likely a preview of what could come to Illinois. He is pursuing legal action over his treatment, which prompted a joint press conference from Oak Park's elected bodies denouncing his arrest.

Noemi Chavez, her husband Jaime Ramirez, and their children, 8-year-old Dasha and her 3-year-old son, were detained by federal agents without a warrant during a family outing at Chicago's Millennium Park on September 28, 2025. Witnesses and video showed Dasha crying and clutching a doll as heavily armed agents in camouflage took the family away in a white van while the children played in the water at Crown Fountain. Chavez said agents targeted them based on appearance; the family came from Guatemala in 2023 seeking asylum and has a hearing scheduled for October 2027. A neighbor whose son is in Dasha's third-grade class helped bring the family supplies and stayed in contact with Chavez via WhatsApp. The National Immigrant Justice Center filed a habeas corpus petition, and a federal judge ordered Chavez and the children protected from deportation; they were released from ICE custody. Ramirez remains detained at a Texas facility, where attorneys are seeking his release or a bond hearing, arguing he poses no danger or flight risk.

A man was detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents following a car crash on October 1 near Congress Parkway and California Avenue in East Garfield Park. Eyewitnesses recorded video showing an agent with his arms around the man's neck while he was on the ground with his hands cuffed behind his back. Chicago police said a 49-year-old woman driving the other vehicle suffered injuries to her shoulder, neck, and hip and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in good condition. The man was released at the scene after Chicago police completed an investigatory stop report. DHS disputed the chokehold allegation, stating agents believed they witnessed the theft of a $5,000 saw from a nearby construction site, the man fled in a vehicle, crashed into another motorist, and began resisting when agents attempted to render aid. Community leaders and city officials condemned the incident, questioning why Border Patrol agents were intervening in a suspected theft.

A 60-year-old Mexican tamale vendor who had been selling street food in Pilsen for over a decade was detained by ICE agents when she could not provide proof of legal status. She had been supporting herself and her son while managing diabetes since her husband's death in 2023. She was released on October 22, 11 days after filing her habeas case.