Human Impact Project

Liborio Parral Ortiz and Bonfilia Sanchez Dominguez, a married couple from Mounds View, Minnesota, were stopped by ICE agents early Thursday morning while driving to Mercy Hospital's Unity Campus in Fridley because Sanchez Dominguez was experiencing back pain. ICE immediately detained Parral Ortiz and transported him to El Paso, Texas within 20 hours, separating him from his wife who remained hospitalized. According to their daughter Shelly Parral Ortiz, ICE agents were posted outside the mother's hospital room, and hospital staff told the family they would not be allowed to return to visit if they left. Security staff also threatened to arrest the family's lawyer when he attempted to speak with Sanchez Dominguez.

Federal agents conducted traffic stops near a Meta Platforms data center construction site in Louisiana as part of Operation Catahoula Crunch, targeting dump trucks and other vehicles headed to the build area. Over 90% of those detained had no criminal records. The enforcement activity disrupted construction logistics and caused community anxiety among immigrant households.

Heber Sánchez Domínguez, a 34-year-old day laborer from Las Choapas, Veracruz, Mexico, who had lived in the U.S. for two years, died while in ICE custody at the Robert A. Deyton Detention Facility in Georgia. He was arrested on January 7, 2026, for driving without a license following a traffic incident, then transferred to the detention facility days later. On January 14, after about a week in custody, guards found him unconscious with a rope around his neck; resuscitation attempts failed and he was pronounced dead. His cellmate said he had complained of feeling sick beforehand, and his family said he was never allowed to contact them after his arrest. His brother Feliciano said, "We want justice because they should have given him medical attention," while his 102-year-old mother, Catalina Sánchez Domínguez, expressed anguish over his death. The Mexican Consulate and Foreign Ministry have requested a transparent investigation, and his family disputes the suicide finding, demanding answers about his medical care. He is survived by a wife and two children.

Misael Garcia Lopez, 48, spent 18 years building a life in Eugene, Oregon with his wife Valeria and three children—Leo, 11, Jasmine, 22, and Luis—working in landscaping, roofing, and other jobs. On November 19, 2025, ICE agents in unmarked vehicles conducted a traffic stop near Meadowlark Prairie minutes after he dropped Leo at school and arrested him for lacking legal status, despite his clean criminal record. Over nearly two months detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington, Garcia Lopez received support letters from family, friends, and community members attesting to his work ethic, kindness, and role as a devoted father. His 22-year-old daughter Jasmine, a U.S. citizen and certified nursing assistant, spoke publicly about his case despite her mother's fear. On January 15, 2026, Garcia Lopez accepted voluntary departure and was deported to Mexico, arriving with only 96 cents and no documents. His family remained in Oregon; months later, he watched via video call as his grandson was born.

ICE agents arrested a woman in Minneapolis who was attempting to drive through a street where the agency was conducting a raid to reach her doctor's appointment. When the woman refused to move her car, agents broke her car window, cut her seatbelt, and dragged her out before arresting her. The incident occurred amid a broader ICE enforcement operation in the city.

Abel, an undocumented immigrant who has lived in Minnesota for 29 years with his four U.S.-born children, was detained by immigration agents on January 13, 2026, while delivering groceries to families in hiding during Operation Metro Surge. Agents pulled over his vehicle in Burnsville and arrested him despite his pending green card approval. He was held at a detention center in El Paso, Texas, for two weeks before being released on January 29, 2026. His arrest forced his wife into hiding and left his sons to manage household responsibilities.

Hani Duglof, a 32-year-old with a rare genetic disorder (RDEB) that causes skin blistering, was detained by ICE after agents ran his license plate while he was driving. He was transferred to M Health Fairview Southdale Hospital after requesting medical attention, where he remains in ICE custody. His family and attorney are seeking his release, citing his severe medical condition and his pending asylum application that has been ongoing for over 10 years.

ICE agents rammed the car of Christian Molina, 40, as he drove to meet his wife at a mechanic's shop in south Minneapolis on Jan. 12. Agents questioned his immigration status and asked for ID, but released him after he said he was a U.S. citizen. The incident occurred two blocks from where an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Good on Jan. 7, and a crowd that gathered at the scene was met with chemical irritants deployed by agents. Molina and his wife live in Coon Rapids but had lived in south Minneapolis for years.

Danny Briceno-Solano, a Venezuelan national with work authorization and legal status to remain in the U.S., was detained by ICE on January 11, 2026, after being stopped on I-77 for unclear paper license plates. U.S. District Judge Thomas Johnston ordered his release from South Central Regional Jail on February 5, 2026, ruling that the government violated due process by detaining him without explanation, hearing, notice, or means of challenging the detention. Briceno-Solano crossed the border illegally in 2022 but was lawfully released and granted permission to stay based on unsafe conditions in Venezuela; he was employed as a contractor, paid taxes, and had a North Carolina driver's license. His removal hearings had been dismissed nine days before his detention.

Jose Roberto Ramirez, a 20-year-old U.S. citizen and Red Lake Nation descendant from Crystal, Minnesota, was pulled from his aunt's car by ICE agents on January 8, 2026, outside a Hy-Vee in Robbinsdale after agents said he matched the description of an Ecuadoran national with a criminal history. His aunt, Shawntia Sosa-Clara, filmed the encounter, repeatedly telling agents they were citizens and calling police for help, while bystanders reacted on video. Family photos showed bruising on Ramirez's wrists, neck and face, which they said resulted from agents striking him during the roughly 10-hour detention. Ramirez is not enrolled in the Red Lake Nation due to blood quantum requirements and had no tribal ID, but was released after his mother provided his birth certificate, with the tribe's legal department assisting with documentation. ICE said Ramirez struck an agent after his phone was knocked from his hand and he now faces a federal charge of assaulting, resisting or impeding an officer, which he denies. Tribal leaders and members of Minnesota's Native American legislative caucus said the incident reflected racial profiling of Native Americans based on skin color.

Rachel Dionne-Thunder, a Plains Cree woman and co-founder of the Indigenous Peoples' Movement (also referred to as the Indigenous Protectors Movement), was stopped and detained by ICE agents while sitting in her car near the Powwow Grounds coffee shop in Minneapolis. Agents did not give her a reason for the stop, and she locked her vehicle doors and refused to show identification or exit the car, citing Know Your Rights training. She livestreamed the encounter on Facebook. Coffee shop workers and other community members intervened, and the agents ultimately left without detaining her further. Dionne-Thunder is a U.S. citizen.

Khadra Muse Mohamed, a 25-year-old Somali refugee and single mother, was pulled over by undercover ICE agents on January 10, 2026, one day after Operation PARRIS began. She had legally arrived in the U.S. in April 2024, passed security screenings, and was living in St. Cloud with her 7-year-old son and extended family including her disabled stepfather. After her arrest, she was transferred to a detention facility in Texas before her family could secure legal representation, separating her from her young son and elderly relatives who depend on her care. She was released on January 19 after nine days in detention.

ICE agents in Maryland used the state's driver's license database to conduct license plate checks in January 2026 without a traffic violation or warrant, detaining Santos Alvarenga-Rodriguez, 47, a Salvadoran citizen, based on license restrictions. The operation, part of "Operation Take Back America," ran checks on approximately 10 vehicles, with nine resulting in no enforcement action. Nearly a quarter-million Maryland drivers carry similar license restrictions, which can indicate various factors unrelated to immigration status. Alvarenga-Rodriguez resisted during the encounter and was charged with assaulting and resisting officers.

Jose Avendano, a 62-year-old dishwasher from El Salvador with temporary protected status and a valid work permit, was arrested on January 9, 2026, while driving to work. He told officers he had legal authorization to be in the United States, but was detained and transferred to El Paso. Avendano has lived in the U.S. for 32 years, has a heart condition requiring daily medication and a pacemaker, and missed a critical medical procedure due to his arrest. A federal judge ordered his release after his lawyer filed suit, but ICE kept him in custody for three additional days in violation of the court order.

A noncitizen was arrested on January 9, 2026, for driving under the influence, transporting an open container of medical marijuana, and possession of medical marijuana without a license. He was detained by immigration authorities immediately following his release from custody on these drug-related charges. The court granted his habeas petition and ordered respondents to provide him a bond hearing within 14 days before an immigration judge, where the government must prove by clear and convincing evidence that he is a flight risk or danger to public safety, or he must be released on the same terms as his previous release.

Mauricio Martínez was detained by ICE agents during a traffic stop on January 9 and transferred to a detention facility in El Paso, Texas. His wife Nancy Parra and their three children have remained largely confined to their home. Parra reported that her husband is held in conditions including overcrowding, spoiled food, and poor sanitation. The family experiences financial hardship without his income.

According to an Instagram post, two individuals (described as a father and son) were detained by ICE agents who arrived in unmarked cars without a warrant. The post alleges the agents blocked in the vehicle, broke a window, and used force during the detention, including choking one individual with a jacket.

Ramón Barraza, a 60-year-old Mexican national from Sinaloa who worked as a certified public accountant in Mexico and spent two decades installing ceramic tile floors in Phoenix, was pulled over near 75th Avenue and McDowell Road by unmarked ICE SUVs while driving to a job site. Plainclothes agents with no visible identification, who appeared to have tracked his truck using license-plate data, boxed him in, addressed him in Spanish, and handcuffed him, telling him 'you're the one we came for.' He was taken to ICE's Central Avenue processing facility, where he said he was held for 26 hours in an overcrowded, windowless cell with about 25 other detainees, given only a frozen bean burrito every six hours, no water or fruit, and was denied a phone call to his family for hours. An agent later prepared a 'voluntary departure' document himself, instructing Barraza only to confirm pre-filled personal information rather than answering open questions, and told him signing it would let his girlfriend later petition for his legal reentry.

Roberto Hernandez, a 62-year-old undocumented immigrant with no criminal record, was detained by ICE during a traffic stop in Minnesota on January 5, 2026, while driving to work as a cook. He has been held in a New Mexico detention facility for nearly four months and now faces deportation despite having lived in the United States for nearly 30 years and being in the process of applying for permanent residency sponsored by his son, a Minneapolis police detective. Hernandez was arrested during Operation Metro Surge without a warrant or removal order. His case reflects a broader pattern in which the majority of ICE detainees have not been convicted of crimes.

Dinah Marie Chollet, a South Carolina restaurant co-owner, was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor after joining a private group chat with Summerville High School students planning a walkout against ICE. Chollet stated she joined to express support for the students' activism, shared safety information, and then left the chat. She was arrested on February 12 and released on $1,000 bond, with an initial court appearance scheduled for April 14.