Human Impact Project

A federal judge ordered the immediate release of Paulo Cesar Gamez Lira, a 27-year-old DACA recipient and father of four U.S. citizen children who was detained by ICE for 42 days. Gamez Lira was detained on August 13 when federal agents surrounded his vehicle in Horizon City, Texas, with two of his young children present. He was held at the Otero County Processing Center in Chaparral, New Mexico, separated from his family including a three-month-old infant with serious medical conditions. The federal government declined to oppose his release.

Jean Carlos, 37, has lived in Miami for 31 years and is a father of two. He is a DACA recipient who is currently detained. Multiple DACA recipients are currently in detention. Children of detained immigrants are being separated from their parents.

Jose Valdovinos, a 27-year-old DACA recipient who has lived in Arizona since he was a toddler, was detained by Border Patrol on August 10, 2025, after he and his wife, U.S. citizen Jitzell Flores, left a Circle K gas station near downtown Yuma. When Flores asked why he was being taken, an agent said, 'We don't have to give it to you.' Valdovinos, who works packaging Medjool dates at Datepac, has no criminal record, pays taxes, renewed his DACA status every two years, and was pursuing permanent residency. DHS said the vehicle was stopped for 'driving in a suspicious manner' and stated that 'DACA does not confer any form of legal status.' Flores called the stop racial profiling. The Mexican Consulate visited him and connected his family with an attorney before his transfer to the Florence Service Processing Center. Weeks later, he was released with an ankle monitor.

Monsy Hernández, a DACA recipient who arrived in South Carolina as a child, self-deported at age 19 in 2017 after her mother was detained by ICE. Now living in Germany, she founded Onward, an organization supporting undocumented immigrants considering voluntary departure. The organization's membership increased during Trump administration deportation efforts.

Edgar, a 36-year-old DACA recipient who arrived in the U.S. from Mexico as a 13-year-old in 2001, was detained in early June 2025 after a warrant for missing a court date related to driving with a suspended license, and was held at the Florida Everglades detention center known as "Alligator Alcatraz." After 13 days there, he was transferred to the Glades County Jail, where his attorney, Josephine Arroyo, was finally able to meet with him in person; she had previously been unable to reach him despite repeated attempts. Edgar is the father of three U.S. citizens with no criminal record and maintains valid DACA status through regular renewals, and he told Arroyo he was transported alongside other detainees who held valid work permits. Arroyo has asked ICE to terminate proceedings against him and release him, and said she plans to file a federal habeas corpus petition this week if he is not released.

Jose Francisco Orellana-Rivera, who arrived from Honduras at age 4 and was paroled into the community in 2001, was detained by ICE in June 2025 after 24 years of living freely in the United States. He is married to a U.S. citizen with two citizen children and was previously granted DACA. The court ordered his immediate release, finding his detention without a pre-detention hearing violated due process rights.

Javier Diaz Santana, a 32-year-old deaf DACA recipient with no criminal history, was arrested by ICE agents during a raid at a car wash in Temple City, California on June 12, 2025. Despite being deaf and unable to communicate, agents confiscated his phone and wallet, handcuffed him, and transported him to an El Paso detention center without explaining his detention or accommodating his disability. He was released on July 8 after his attorney provided proof of his DACA status to authorities.

Patricia Vázquez Topete, a DACA recipient who lived in California for 20 years, left the U.S. in May 2025 amid uncertainty over DACA's future and immigration enforcement under the Trump administration. She had come to the U.S. at age 12 after fleeing abuse in Mexico, was raised by an uncle in the Central Valley, worked in the strawberry fields of Salinas, and earned a scholarship to Fresno Pacific University before building a career in global banking. She has since settled in Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, and is preparing to pursue a master's degree in international business in Spain.

Amilcar Lisser-Posadas, a 29-year-old Honduran national and former DACA recipient with two U.S. citizen daughters, was apprehended in Shelby County, Tennessee in March 2025 for driving with an expired license and transferred to ICE custody. He was moved between multiple detention facilities over four weeks and filed a legal request citing fear of persecution in Honduras, which received no response. At Alexandria Staging Facility, he was detained for approximately 12 days in overcrowded conditions with inadequate sanitation, food, and medical care—arriving sick with chest congestion, fever, and ear infection but receiving no medication until the final two days. On April 23, 2025, he was deported to Honduras on GlobalX charter flights despite his pending legal request. He was later apprehended again at the southern border in May 2025 attempting to reunite with his family and is now facing deportation again from a federal prison.

Quebec Vasquez, a DACA-protected mother of three U.S. citizen children, announced plans to self-deport to Mexico due to fears about rapidly changing immigration policies under the Trump administration. Despite being protected from deportation through DACA for 10 years, she cited uncertainty and fear about her family's future as reasons for considering leaving the United States.

Dora Reynosa, an undocumented immigrant and former DACA recipient who goes by the artist name ByZeneth, self-deported to Mexico in January 2026 to live with family. The muralist, who has over 8,000 Instagram followers and has been commissioned by the Texas Rangers and the Adolphus Hotel, faced verbal and physical assault while painting in South Dallas in February 2025, which she cited alongside rising ICE enforcement as factors in her decision. Her recent work includes large protest banners reading "No estan solos," "Solidarity" and "Resist" that have been used at Dallas demonstrations against ICE. Reynosa plans to continue creating art addressing immigrant issues from Mexico, saying she will have greater freedom to speak out without fear of detention or deportation.