Human Impact Project

Willy Wender Aceituno, a naturalized U.S. citizen of Honduran descent who has lived in Charlotte, North Carolina for over 25 years, was arrested by ICE and DHS agents in November 2025 without a warrant. During the encounter, agents smashed his truck window with a baton and forcibly removed him from the vehicle despite him showing them his REAL ID confirming his citizenship. When Aceituno began filming the agents on his phone, they threw him onto the broken glass, handcuffed him, and transported him approximately two miles away before releasing him bleeding on the side of the road. The incident triggered childhood trauma from witnessing his father's arrest and disappearance by the Honduran military. In February 2026, Aceituno filed a $1.25 million lawsuit against federal immigration authorities alleging violations of constitutional amendments and claims of assault, battery, false imprisonment, and negligent supervision. Aceituno is the lead plaintiff in a federal class-action lawsuit with the ACLU alleging that ICE and CBP agents made warrantless arrests without probable cause across North Carolina.

A 21-year-old Moroccan woman with a U.S. immigration judge's ruling prohibiting her return to Morocco was deported to Cameroon in mid-January 2026 as part of a secret third-country removal program. Without due process or legal counsel, she was subsequently returned to Morocco, where she faced persecution for her sexual orientation. She is now in hiding.

A widowed undocumented Mexican mother describes losing her husband, Jesús Juárez Cruz, after he avoided seeking medical care due to fear of ICE deportation. The man died without receiving medical treatment. The widow, who requested anonymity due to concerns about Trump administration retaliation, shared her story through an Instagram post and news article.

Estela Ramos Baten was detained during a mandatory immigration check-in and deported to Guatemala with her teenage daughter Nory Sontay Ramos on July 4. Ramos Baten had lived in Los Angeles since 2016 and suffered from liver cirrhosis and high blood pressure. She died nine weeks after deportation from complications of liver cirrhosis. Her teenage daughter remained in Guatemala.

Luis Duque was driving his boyfriend Oscar to work in Charlotte when ICE agents stopped their vehicle during a traffic stop. The agents detained Oscar, who is in the process of becoming a U.S. citizen, without presenting a warrant. Oscar was taken to Stewart Detention Center in Georgia and given the option to self-deport to Mexico or wait months for a court hearing.

An 11-year-old U.S. citizen girl recovering from a rare brain tumor was deported to Mexico on February 4, 2025, after immigration authorities detained her undocumented parents and siblings at a Texas Border Patrol checkpoint while the family traveled for her emergency medical checkup. The family was removed despite previously passing through the checkpoint with hospital and attorney letters. Since deportation, her health has deteriorated, with worsening seizures, muscle spasms, and loss of neurological functions, and she has received only one MRI instead of the recommended quarterly scans. Four of the family's five children are U.S. citizens, including an 18-year-old brother left to live alone in the family's Texas home for a year. The family has been living in an area known for kidnappings of U.S. citizens while awaiting a humanitarian parole decision filed through the Texas Civil Rights Project. Congressional members including Reps. Adriano Espaillat, Sylvia Garcia, and Joaquin Castro have advocated for the family's return, and the teenage brother attended the State of the Union as Espaillat's guest, describing his year alone as feeling 'trapped in a coffin.'

On February 17, 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers detained Sonia Espinoza Arriaga, a Mexican national, and her three children (ages 5, 16, and 18) in Soldotna, Alaska. The family had entered the United States in 2023 and declared themselves at the border seeking protection. Arriaga was married to a U.S. citizen and had been in regular contact with her immigration attorney, who believed no enforcement action would occur for 90 days. The detention followed Arriaga's missed immigration court hearing in January due to miscommunication about the date. Within 36 hours of detention, Arriaga and her two youngest children were deported to Tijuana, Mexico, while her 18-year-old son was transferred to the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington. An immigration attorney filed a habeas corpus petition challenging the legality of the detention, and the rapid deportation prompted an Alaska House Judiciary Committee investigation into ICE activity in the state.

Juana Felipe Mateo, a Guatemalan mother of two, was deported from the South Texas Family Residential Center (Dilley) while 8 months pregnant with a third child after three months in detention. She alleges ICE and DHS deceived her into signing voluntary departure papers by offering $15,000 (which she says she never received) and obtaining a doctor's authorization to fly despite her advanced pregnancy. Juana reported that pregnant detainees, including herself, were hidden from U.S. Congressman Joaquín Castro during a facility inspection to prevent them from reporting lack of medical care and alleged mistreatment. She also described being placed in a cold room known as 'la hielera' for five days when her 2-year-old daughter developed fever. She learned of her unborn son's sex only on the day of her deportation.

Ricardo del Pino Olivera, a 67-year-old Cuban man, was deported from the United States to Mexico on July 3, 2025, after serving a 17-year sentence. On July 31, he applied for refugee status in Mexico but struggled to find formal employment or access essential services. The Amparito shelter in Villahermosa began advocating on his behalf, after which he gained access to advanced medical treatment. He was repeatedly hospitalized beginning December 12, and by early January he was severely malnourished and still lacked legal documentation. Ricardo died on February 21, 2026. His death certificate listed his nationality as 'unknown.'

Lucia, a pregnant woman, was detained by ICE after appearing for a regular check-in appointment at a detention facility in Dilley. While two months pregnant, she began experiencing heavy vaginal bleeding and cramping in the middle of the night but was not taken to see medical staff for several hours. Medical personnel left her alone in a small room without food, water, or pain medication while she bled heavily. She was eventually transported to an emergency room about an hour away while shackled at the arms and legs, where she suffered a miscarriage and required a blood transfusion. She was returned to ICE custody and continued experiencing abdominal pain and heavy bleeding for another month before being deported. Representative Joaquin Castro raised allegations about conditions for pregnant women held at the Dilley detention center.

Alicia arrived for a routine ICE check-in in Louisiana and was detained without warning, then sent to Basile detention center. She soon discovered she was pregnant. She received small portions of poor-quality food that left her feeling weak and hungry. By May, she began experiencing severe abdominal pain, cramping, and bleeding. She was taken to a local hospital for a blood test but received no explanation of her medical treatment or interpretation. At the emergency room, medical personnel performed an invasive uterine test without her consent, injected her with an unknown medication, and informed her that she had miscarried. Despite this miscarriage, ICE returned her to Basile that night and detained her for two more months. She continued to experience heavy bleeding, swelling, fever, and severe uterine pain, submitting repeated sick call requests that went unanswered. In July 2025, ICE deported Alicia, separating her from her children, and she later sought hospital care for a severe infection acquired while in custody.

Greggy Valerio Sorio, a 37-year-old green card holder, was deported to the Philippines after ICE denied his stay request despite severe medical conditions including inflammatory bowel disease, anemia, and a toe amputation requiring wheelchair use. Sorio's deportation stemmed from criminal convictions dating back over a decade, and ICE determined he was medically fit to fly despite advocates' warnings and his recent hospitalization. Community groups and immigrant-rights advocates condemned the deportation as a systemic failure, with 60 protesters rallying outside the detention center, and airline staff initially removing him from the flight after being alerted to his condition.

Four journalists and an attorney were detained by plainclothes police in Yaounde, Cameroon on February 19, 2026, while investigating Trump administration deportations of third-country immigrants to the African nation. The journalists were beaten during the detention, and their equipment was confiscated. They were attempting to interview recently deported individuals and film a facility holding deportees. All five people were later released. Press freedom groups raised alarm over the incident, which occurred as some deported immigrants were sent to Cameroon in violation of court orders protecting them from deportation to their home countries.

The Department of Justice filed a denaturalization case against former North Miami Mayor Philippe Bien-Aime, alleging he misrepresented his identity and immigration history during his naturalization process in 2006. According to federal prosecutors, Bien-Aime entered the United States in 1997 using a fraudulent passport under a different name, was ordered removed in 2000, but remained in the country under an assumed identity. The complaint also alleges he obtained permanent resident status through an invalid marriage to a U.S. citizen using a fraudulent divorce certificate.

Liam Azizi and his wife Hananeh Alikaram, Iranian converts to Christianity fleeing religious persecution, were separated after only Azizi received asylum approval. Alikaram's asylum request was denied and she is being held in Louisiana awaiting deportation to Iran, where she faces prosecution for her religious conversion.

Rigoberto Soto Jimenez, a Mexican immigrant, was ordered released by a federal judge in Minnesota but ICE released him in Texas without his driver's license, work permit, or Mexican consular ID card. The Department of Justice failed to comply with the court's February 9 order to return his belongings by the February 17 deadline. At a February 18 show cause hearing, U.S. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Isihara was found in civil contempt of court, and Judge Laura M. Provinzino ordered him to pay $500 daily fines beginning February 20 until the documents were returned. On February 19, the DOJ returned Soto Jimenez's documents via overnight delivery, and the judge dismissed the contempt order without imposing fines.

Javier Abreu-Vasquez (also referred to as Javier Ubreu), a 38-year-old kidney transplant recipient from the Dominican Republic with legal status in the U.S., was arrested by ICE agents in Rochester, Minnesota on February 5 while delivering groceries for his church's mutual aid group after officers rammed his car and broke a window. He was transferred to a facility in El Paso, Texas, where he faced delays and reportedly incorrect dosages of the immunosuppressant medication needed to prevent rejection of his donated kidney. His wife and Minnesota state Rep. Kim Hicks attempted to deliver his medication to federal authorities but were initially turned away. After intervention from Senator Tina Smith's office and Mayo Clinic physicians, he gained access to medication, and a federal judge ordered his release on bond. His attorney confirmed he has no prior criminal convictions. He returned home to Rochester on February 19 after roughly two weeks in custody, with next steps in his immigration case unclear.

Victor Jardon-Reyes, a 33-year-old DACA recipient from Guerrero, Mexico, lost his job on February 18, 2026, after his DACA renewal application stalled for months. He applied to renew his DACA in November 2025, received an appointment for fingerprinting in January 2026, but his work permit expired before the renewal was processed, causing him to lose work authorization and legal protections from deportation. Jardon-Reyes, a homeowner in Chicago's Belmont Cragin neighborhood with a mortgage and college enrollment, is now afraid to leave his home due to risk of ICE detention. His situation exemplifies a nationwide problem of DACA renewal delays affecting an estimated half million recipients.

Juan Nicolás, a two-month-old infant, was deported to Mexico on February 8, 2026, hours after being discharged from hospital treatment for bronchitis and respiratory illness. He was detained at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, alongside his mother Mireya López Sánchez and 16-month-old sister after his mother was apprehended near Eagle Pass on January 21 while seeking asylum. During detention, Juan Nicolás developed severe breathing problems, vomiting, and gastroesophageal reflux disease; his mother reported he became unresponsive and was "choking on his own vomit" while hospitalized. After hospital discharge, he was immediately deported with only $190 from the family's detention commissary account. With assistance from journalist Lidia Terrazas and advocacy groups, the family secured shelter and medical care, where Juan Nicolás was diagnosed with RSV and severe bronchiolitis. The family later relocated to Guatemala where they have relatives. Rep. Joaquin Castro criticized the deportation as "heinous."

Luis Roldan-Cerda, a DACA recipient, was detained and deported by ICE on February 17, 2026, after attending a biometric appointment for his U visa application at an immigration office in McAllen, Texas. He was deported to Reynosa, Mexico, and spent more than five weeks stranded there, witnessing cartel violence in the city. A federal judge ordered his return to the United States, and he was reunited with his wife Denisse Garcia and their children. Roldan-Cerda, who was brought to the U.S. at age three, said he was grateful to be back with his family and planned to return to his job as an electrician.