Human Impact Project

Kapil Raghu was arrested by Benton police on May 3, 2025, after officers mistook a perfume bottle for an illegal substance during a traffic stop. While in jail awaiting charges, it was discovered his temporary visa had expired, leading to his transfer to an ICE detention facility in Louisiana. After being released after 30 days, Raghu is now in immigration limbo with his work authorization suspended and previous citizenship efforts halted.

Kenny Laynez, an 18-year-old U.S. citizen born in West Palm Beach, was detained for six hours by Florida Highway Patrol and Border Patrol agents on May 2 after being stopped while driving to a landscaping job with his mother and two undocumented coworkers. Video footage captured officers using physical force against Laynez, twisting his arms and pushing him face-down to the pavement, while tasering one of his coworkers twice. An officer told Laynez, "You have no rights here. You are a 'Migo,' brother," after Laynez asserted his citizenship. Laynez was eventually released from a Riviera Beach federal facility after agents confirmed his citizenship status, but was charged with misdemeanor obstruction without violence and entered a pretrial diversion program.

ICE agents conducted a search warrant raid at an Oklahoma City residence as part of a human smuggling investigation. The warrant named suspects who no longer lived at the property. Agents forcibly removed a U.S. citizen mother and her three daughters, seized their phones, laptops, and cash savings, and ordered them outside in the rain. Homeland Security later acknowledged the family were not the intended targets of the investigation.

Daniel Flores Martinez was detained by ICE agents on Mother's Day 2025 after federal officers in unmarked cars surrounded his vehicle as he, his wife Kenia Guerrero, their three children (ages 3, 12 and 14) and his mother-in-law drove to church. Agents, who never identified themselves or their agency, broke the car window, dragged Flores Martinez out, and slammed him to the ground while his children screamed; Guerrero, who along with her children is a U.S. citizen, was restrained against the vehicle when she tried to intervene. Flores Martinez and Guerrero have since filed a federal lawsuit against ICE and the Department of Homeland Security, alleging the agents used illegal "smash and grab" tactics in violation of constitutional protections.

19-year-old Javier Salazar, a Venezuelan who came to the U.S. as an unaccompanied minor in 2022, was arrested in Maryland and detained by ICE on suspicion of gang membership based on a photo showing what may have been a toy water pistol. A Supreme Court intervention blocked his deportation to El Salvador hours before he was to be removed. His legal battle continues as the Trump administration seeks to expedite his removal.

Manny, an 18-year-old U.S. citizen from North Carolina, was detained by masked armed ICE agents on November 19, 2025, while sleeping in his work truck. He was later interviewed by The Hometown Holler.

Jose Hermosillo, a 19-year-old U.S. citizen from Albuquerque, was detained by Border Patrol agents near Nogales, Arizona, on April 8 after approaching an officer for help during a medical emergency. He was held for 10 days at Florence Correctional Center on suspicion of illegally entering the country, despite being a U.S. citizen. The Department of Homeland Security claimed Hermosillo said he had crossed the border without authorization and was a Mexican citizen, but Hermosillo disputes this, saying he cannot read and did not understand the document he signed. His family searched for him and ultimately provided his birth certificate and social security card to officials. A magistrate judge dismissed the case on April 17, and Hermosillo was released that night.

Dario Quevedo Marquez, a Venezuelan immigrant, was arrested by federal immigration agents on April 15 as he left a South Side Chicago courthouse after a hearing on a misdemeanor battery charge. His wife said agents told her to stay quiet or face arrest herself. The arrest occurred at a courthouse, violating state law and a Cook County judge's order banning civil immigration arrests without warrants at local courthouses.

Jeankey Jhonayker Castro Bravo, a 24-year-old barber from Caracas, Venezuela, was stopped while driving for DoorDash in the Austin area on April 1. After showing his Venezuelan passport, a DPS trooper called in ICE. DPS accused him of gang affiliation based on his tattoos and arrested him for drug possession. He was held in jail for six months before the felony ketamine charge was dropped in October. He was subsequently deported to Venezuela.

Jerce Reyes Barrios, a 36-year-old Venezuelan soccer player and father of two, was deported to El Salvador's CECOT prison under the Trump administration's use of the Alien Enemies Act, allegedly as a member of Tren de Aragua gang. His attorney claims the deportation was wrongful, arguing the government's only evidence is a tattoo of a soccer ball with a crown (a tribute to Real Madrid) and hand gestures from old Facebook posts.

Franyeli Carolina Zambrano Manrique, 30, a Venezuelan with Temporary Protected Status, was arrested on February 8, 2025 during a traffic stop in Utah with her husband. Despite having valid TPS status, ICE officers accused them both of gang membership based on tattoos and refused to accept their denials. She was transferred to Henderson detention center in Nevada, then deported on March 15, 2025 despite a federal judge's order halting deportations. She was told she was being flown to Venezuela but was instead taken to El Salvador, where she was kept on the plane and sent back to the United States the same day. She was later deported to Venezuela on April 5, 2025, but her husband remains detained at CECOT in El Salvador.

Julio Vargas, a coconut vendor in El Corredor Salvadoreño, was detained by immigration officers two months prior to the article's publication without a stated reason or warrant. He has since been released and returned to his work selling coconuts at the same location.

Luis Muñoz Pinto, a 27-year-old Venezuelan who had been studying robotics engineering, was detained during a scheduled Customs and Border Protection appointment under the CBP One program and deported to El Salvador's CECOT prison on March 15, 2025, under the Alien Enemies Act, where he said lights stayed on 24/7, food and medicine were withheld, and bathing water had to be used for drinking. U.S. officials pointed to rose tattoos, which he says represent his twin sisters, as evidence linking him to the Tren de Aragua gang, an accusation he denies. He had no criminal record in the United States and was released on July 18, 2025, returning to Colombia. A federal judge has since ruled that Muñoz Pinto and more than 100 other deportees must be allowed to return to the U.S. for due process, and he hopes to clear his name and resume studying engineering there.

Andry Omar Blanco Bonilla, a 40-year-old food delivery driver and mechanic from Venezuela, was detained at an ICE office in Dallas in February 2024 after notifying them of an address change and being asked about his tattoos—which he said represented his family, not gang affiliation. Released pending deportation when Venezuela would not accept deportees, he was detained again after Trump's inauguration and deported to El Salvador's CECOT prison on March 15, 2025. He endured four months of beatings and humiliation before being returned to Venezuela on July 18, 2025. He had no criminal record in the U.S. and came to the country to support his seven children.

Juan José Ramos Ramos, a 39-year-old former telephone technician from Venezuela, was detained during an ICE appointment and deported to El Salvador's CECOT prison on March 15, 2025, under the Alien Enemies Act. The Trump administration alleged he was a Tren de Aragua gang member, but he was detected by immigration agents riding in a car with a Venezuela sticker. During his four months in CECOT, he said he endured severe beatings, humiliation, and psychological abuse, and told reporters he had wanted to end his life rather than continue enduring the conditions. He was released as part of a three-country deal in July 2025 that freed 238 Venezuelan men from the prison, and returned to Venezuela on July 18, 2025. A review of government data by ProPublica, the Texas Tribune and Venezuelan journalists found that at least 197 of the released men, including Ramos, had no criminal convictions in the U.S.

Yoderlyn Daviana Acosta Peña, a 21-year-old Venezuelan migrant living and working in Chicago, was arrested in February 2025 on suspicion of gang membership in Tren de Aragua based on subjective criteria including tattoos. On March 15, 2025, while being deported via charter plane, an ICE officer physically assaulted her, grabbing her by the hair and punching her in the face. She was deported to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act without due process.

Abel Orozco, a 47-year-old tree-cutting business owner who has lived in the Chicago suburbs for about 30 years, was arrested by ICE agents without a warrant on January 26 while driving home from picking up tamales for his family. Agents had entered his backyard and porch searching for his eldest son, who shares his name, and after forcing open his car and handcuffing him, realized roughly 45 minutes to an hour later they had the wrong person—but detained him anyway. Orozco has no criminal record, arrived in the U.S. in the late 1990s under a legal work petition, and was issued a removal order in 2004 after visiting his father in Mexico. He has remained in ICE custody in Kentucky for nearly six months, during which his family has missed mortgage payments, his younger son has struggled to keep the family business running, and his wife Yolanda, who has spoken publicly about the case, has been fighting breast cancer. His attorneys at the National Immigrant Justice Center, representing Orozco as one of 22 detainees, have filed a motion challenging the legality of warrantless ICE arrests and are seeking his release.

A federal judge ruled that the February 2025 arrests of 12 employees at El Potro Mexican Restaurant in Liberty, Missouri by armed Department of Homeland Security agents were unlawful. According to court documents, ICE officers came looking for one person believed to have a felony narcotics conviction, then had the restaurant owner bring employees in one at a time without informing them they could decline to speak with agents. The judge found 11 of the 12 arrests lacked probable cause, ruling only one lawful due to prior removal history, and found agents had prepared forms justifying the arrests that did not include facts supporting probable cause.

Julio Noriega, a 54-year-old U.S. citizen born in Chicago, was arrested by ICE agents on January 31, 2025, after buying pizza in Berwyn. Agents surrounded him, handcuffed him, and confiscated his wallet containing his ID and Social Security card before transporting him to an ICE processing center in Broadview. He was detained overnight without being questioned about his citizenship status and released only after agents examined his identification. In March 2025, attorneys from the National Immigrant Justice Center and ACLU of Illinois filed a federal court lawsuit alleging that ICE violated the Castañón Nava settlement agreement by arresting Noriega and at least 21 others without proper warrants since January 2025. The lawsuit alleges constitutional and immigration law violations including arrests without probable cause and detention orders created after people were already detained.

Jensy Machado, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was detained by ICE agents on March 5, 2025, while driving to work in Manassas. The agents were searching for another man with a deportation order who had provided Machado's home address. Machado was handcuffed and questioned about his immigration status before being released after showing his driver's license.