Human Impact Project

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.

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.

Jonathan Caravello, a lecturer at California State University Channel Islands, was arrested on July 10, 2025, during federal immigration enforcement raids at Glass House Farms cannabis facilities in Camarillo, Ventura County. He was charged with a felony count of assaulting an immigration agent with a deadly or dangerous weapon after allegedly throwing a tear gas canister at law enforcement; some accounts indicate he was instead trying to dislodge a canister stuck under a wheelchair during the confrontation between agents and protesters. The broader raids, conducted across Southern California cannabis facilities between July 10-14, resulted in more than 360 arrests and the death of one farmworker who fell from a greenhouse roof. Caravello was released on a $15,000 bond, and in November 2025 he pleaded not guilty in federal court to the charge.

On November 5, 2025, ICE agents detained Diana Patricia Santillana Galeano, a teacher at Rayito de Sol Spanish Immersion Early Learning Center in Chicago's North Center neighborhood, during morning drop-off hours. According to DHS, officers conducted a traffic stop that led to a vehicle pursuit ending at the daycare facility. Agents entered and forcibly removed Galeano in front of children and parents, searching the facility. Galeano claimed to have work authorization and a pending asylum case, while DHS identified her as undocumented from Colombia. A federal judge subsequently ruled her mandatory detention illegal and ordered a bond hearing before an immigration judge. The incident prompted a rally of hundreds of community members and local officials demanding ICE stay out of schools and daycares.

A 32-year-old U.S. citizen was detained by federal immigration agents during a raid at a Home Depot in the Cypress Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. Witnesses said agents accused him of throwing rocks at them, detained him, and then drove away in his vehicle, which still had his 1-year-old daughter inside. The child was later returned to her family with a bruised cheek but was otherwise unharmed. The father was held in custody for two days before being released.

ICE agents pointed rifles at bystanders and attempted to break down doors while conducting an enforcement action at Salem Walk apartments in unincorporated Northbrook on November 5, 2025. The operation, which lasted approximately 50 minutes and involved over a dozen agents and an armored vehicle, resulted in the arrest of Alan Eduardo Garcia, who had a history of violent convictions. Residents and community members confronted agents and filmed the incident.

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.

According to an Instagram post by L.A. TACO, a Border Patrol agent hit a child in the face with a ball during a raid. The child was subsequently driven away from the scene by Border Patrol but was later reunited with their mother in the afternoon.

Julio Vargas, a 66-year-old Guatemalan, was detained by U.S. Border Patrol during an immigration raid at El Corredor Salvadoreño in Los Angeles on Sunday. He is being held at Adelanto Detention Center and has reported breathing problems and cramps due to cold conditions, worsened by his existing health conditions and lack of medication. His family is seeking legal assistance but faces financial and resource barriers.

The City documents five months of immigration enforcement activities at 26 Federal Plaza in New York City, where masked federal agents arrested immigrants in and around immigration courts. A photojournalistic report documents these activities and their effects on affected immigrants during this period.

Immigration agents forcibly entered a family's apartment in November 2025 searching for the mother's cousin, breaking down the door and using force against the mother while her children hid. The 10-year-old boy, identified as J., witnessed agents point a gun at him and his sister as they tried to film the encounter on an iPad. Months later, J. continues experiencing nightmares and flashbacks, struggling to focus in school and fearing for his parents' safety. The incident is part of a broader pattern of immigration enforcement affecting children's mental health nationwide, with studies showing significant psychological impacts on minors in immigrant families.

Alejandra, a 30-year-old undocumented mother of four U.S.-born children, lives in fear of detention and family separation in Nebraska as ICE enforcement intensifies. In June 2025, ICE conducted a raid on a meatpacking plant in Omaha, detaining dozens of people including family friends and church acquaintances. A new ICE detention facility called "Cornhusker Clink" is opening in McCook with capacity for 300 adults. Alejandra's undocumented parents plan to self-deport to Mexico within six months due to fears of detention and concerns about ICE facility conditions.

Roberto López Falcón, a fifth-grade ESL teacher at Hart Elementary School in Austin ISD who was named Campus Teacher of Promise in January 2025, was detained by ICE on September 3, 2025, at an immigration check-in appointment in San Antonio. Falcón, 34, a Cuban national who entered the U.S. without inspection near San Luis, Arizona on March 22, 2022, was released by Border Patrol on an order of recognizance pending an immigration hearing. He was held at the Karnes County Immigration Processing Center to continue his immigration proceedings and remained in custody as of November 2025. At least four additional Austin ISD employees—a bus driver and lunchroom workers—were also detained in the same ICE enforcement sweep. Education Austin, the largest union representing district teachers and staff, confirmed the detentions. Falcón's family reported being devastated by his arrest and struggling without his presence and support.

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.

Homeland Security Investigations agents raided an apartment in Lynden, Washington on October 29, detaining U.S. citizen Jocelyn Peña while arresting her undocumented partner, Jesus Alejandro Lopez Ruiz, on a federal warrant alleging he assaulted an officer during a vehicle pursuit on October 15. Lopez Ruiz was booked into Whatcom County Jail and transferred to federal immigration custody. Advocates and Lopez Ruiz's partner dispute the assault allegation, characterizing the arrest as retribution and intimidation, with claims that no evidence has been provided that the alleged car door contact occurred.

Border Patrol agents conducted immigration enforcement raids across Chicago and nearby suburbs on Halloween, detaining multiple individuals. Incidents included pepper-spray deployment in Albany Park, an agent pointing a weapon at protesters in Evanston, and an officer punching a detainee. Three U.S. citizens were arrested for allegedly obstructing the operations, while five Mexican nationals were detained.

A 16-year-old boy named Diego had both parents taken in separate ICE raids. After being released from ICE custody, Diego's mother Yolanda shared her account of the experience. The incident was originally covered in November of the previous year.

MJMA, a 45-year-old farm worker and lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit, was detained in a van stop by ICE agents who smashed the vehicle's windows without waiting for occupants to comply with commands. Body-camera footage shows MJMA asserting her right to remain silent and requesting a lawyer in Spanish, while an officer broke her phone as she called 911. Agents used facial recognition software to scan her face multiple times, obtaining inaccurate matches—one incorrectly identifying her as "Maria"—and falsely claiming she entered the country unlawfully when she had actually arrived with a valid temporary visa. A federal judge ruled the arrests unlawful and unjustified, finding officers engaged in misconduct, made inaccurate statements in reports, and improperly used facial recognition technology without warrants. MJMA has an ongoing asylum case.

Jhonatan Bello Cabrera, an 18-year-old Colombian national, was detained during an immigration raid at the Savino del Bene warehouse in Woodbridge, New Jersey, while in the process of obtaining permanent residency through his U.S. citizen stepfather and legal permanent resident mother. He was transferred to detention facilities in New Jersey, Texas and Arizona before being released in December after posting a $6,000 bond and being fitted with an ankle monitor. His mother, Sandra Suero, said she never expected the arrest, calling him "a newly graduated kid, still a child."

Killy Tatiana Yangquen García, a 21-year-old Colombian woman who came to the U.S. at age 10, was arrested at the Savino del Bene bonded warehouse in Woodbridge, New Jersey, during an immigration raid in which more than 50 agents from multiple federal agencies, including a helicopter, detained 46 workers. After nearly four months in detention, including transfers across multiple states, an immigration judge denied her bond and she accepted a voluntary departure, returning to Bogotá in February. Her mother, María Eugenia García, has been living in hiding in Elizabeth, New Jersey, since the raid and says she has struggled to cope with the separation, speaking with her daughter only by video call, while Yangquen García's husband, who is applying for U.S. citizenship, hopes to eventually sponsor her return.