Human Impact Project

Kyle Frankovich, a protester, was arrested outside the Broadview ICE facility on October 3 while demonstrating in a designated protest zone. Federal agents grabbed and threw him to the ground, zip-tied him, and detained him for approximately eight hours without explanation or charges, making him stand along a guardrail for 40 minutes as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem walked past with cameras and photographers. He was later released without documentation or charges, and the following week his fiancée Leigh Kunkle was shot in the face with pepper balls by federal agents during another protest at the same site; the couple's attorney has filed federal claims alleging wrongful detention and violation of rights. On the same day Frankovich was detained, federal agents took multiple other protesters into custody as a crowd grew outside the facility amid newly installed barricades, with Illinois State Police also deployed in riot gear; at least five protesters have since faced federal charges from clashes at the site, where agents have repeatedly used tear gas and pepper balls against demonstrators.

On October 3, 2025, federal agents conducted widespread immigration enforcement operations dubbed 'Operation Midway Blitz' across multiple Chicago neighborhoods including West Town, Lakeview, Bucktown-Wicker Park, and Logan Square, detaining multiple people at various locations. Individuals detained included a man waiting outside a health center for his pregnant wife (reported to have work authorization and a pending court date), a construction worker arrested at a residence, a gardener taken into custody, and a comedy club night manager. Schools in the Bucktown-Wicker Park area were placed on soft lockdown, and confrontations between residents and federal agents at multiple locations resulted in tear gas and pepper ball deployment. Nearly a year later, 15 U.S. citizens and legal residents, including an Oak Park Township trustee and a Harvard data scientist who were zip-tied for hours at the Broadview processing center without charges, filed administrative complaints against the Department of Homeland Security alleging excessive force and wrongful detainment, a first step toward a federal tort lawsuit.

Leilani Payne, then 19, was pepper-sprayed at point-blank range by a Federal Protection Service officer while protesting outside the Portland ICE facility on October 2, 2025. Video of the incident showed the officer macing her in the face as she stood alone in front of him, and witnesses reported her screaming in agony and struggling to breathe. A nearby Portland Police officer was reportedly so concerned for her well-being that he called for an ambulance. Portland Police liaisons collected video from witnesses at the scene, though the department said it lacks authority to investigate federal officers acting within the scope of their employment. DHS stated that protesters had been given lawful verbal commands to back away and refused to comply. Payne, now 20, has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Protection Service seeking at least $350,000 in damages.

Video captured in Oasis, California shows a federal agent kneeling on a man after throwing him to the ground and tasing him. According to the person who shared the footage, the man had already surrendered and was not resisting when the agent used force against him.

In Chicago, a federal agent grabbed a protester on a public sidewalk by the throat and body-slammed him to the ground. The agent's weapon dangled behind his back during the encounter, creating an additional public safety danger.

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation opened a criminal investigation into a CBP officer after he grabbed a protester by the hair, put her in a chokehold, and threw her down a grassy embankment outside an ICE facility in Durango. In April 2026, state prosecutors filed third-degree assault and criminal mischief charges against the officer.

In Bowie, Maryland, federal agents arrested a father after he had just left home to drive his children to school in the family minivan. His three children — ages 6, 7, and 8 — were in the backseat as masked agents smashed his window, pulled him from the car, pinned him to the ground, pressed a hand on his neck, and pointed a Taser at him while he was pinned. The children later told their mother they saw agents point a gun at their father. He was detained one day after his wife said he had checked in for immigration supervision.

In Illinois, two men in a pickup truck were pursued by federal agents for nearly 10 minutes from Waukegan into Gurnee, colliding with at least three other vehicles and losing a tire, before driving onto the grounds of Warren Township High School as special education students were arriving for class. One man was detained in the parking lot and another was chased into a classroom and arrested in front of students; the school said neither man was a student or affiliated with the school. As agents walked the two men to vehicles, one pointed pepper spray at community members and staff who had gathered nearby, including a Lutheran pastor who was threatened twice for trying to record the event; the school's superintendent asked staff to keep the men and their families "in your thoughts and prayers."

At Chicago O'Hare International Airport, ride-share drivers — including, in one sweep, a nursing mother — were blocked in and questioned about their status by federal immigration agents. In a separate incident, a ride-share driver who produced an Illinois ID and work authorization had his car boxed in, window broken, was fired on with a Taser twice after the first attempt failed, and then tased again after being pulled from the vehicle. Border Patrol agents later confirmed 12 people were arrested in a parking lot where ride-share drivers typically wait between rides, part of the broader 'Midway Blitz' enforcement operation. In response, Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Illinois Drivers Alliance announced 'Know Your Rights' trainings for drivers and plans to post signage barring civil immigration enforcement from the O'Hare rideshare lot.

Pertissue Fisher, 54, a U.S. citizen living in the South Shore apartment building, was pulled from bed, had a gun put in her face, and was handcuffed tightly enough to leave bruises during the federal raid. Federal agents arrested 37 people in the operation, which included a helicopter landing on the building and left behind cracked windows and broken doors. Members of Congress, including Reps. Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, Delia Ramirez, Robin Kelly and Jonathan Jackson, have since rallied with residents and are calling for an end to federal immigration enforcement in the Chicago area.

A man was detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents following a car crash on October 1 near Congress Parkway and California Avenue in East Garfield Park. Eyewitnesses recorded video showing an agent with his arms around the man's neck while he was on the ground with his hands cuffed behind his back. Chicago police said a 49-year-old woman driving the other vehicle suffered injuries to her shoulder, neck, and hip and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in good condition. The man was released at the scene after Chicago police completed an investigatory stop report. DHS disputed the chokehold allegation, stating agents believed they witnessed the theft of a $5,000 saw from a nearby construction site, the man fled in a vehicle, crashed into another motorist, and began resisting when agents attempted to render aid. Community leaders and city officials condemned the incident, questioning why Border Patrol agents were intervening in a suspected theft.

L. Vural Elibol, a photojournalist working for Turkish news agency Anadolu Ajansi, was violently shoved to the ground by federal officers outside an immigration court in lower Manhattan on October 1, 2025. The incident occurred as officers were detaining a person from Peru at the courthouse. Elibol was injured and hospitalized, spending 35 to 40 minutes semiconscious on the ground before being transported by ambulance to New York-Presbyterian Hospital, where he was treated and discharged the same day. Fellow photographers Dean Moses and Olga Fedorova were also pushed by federal agents during the incident.

An unnamed Iranian man in his 40s, who participated in the "Women, Life, Freedom" protests against mandatory hijab laws, fled Iran in 2024 with his wife and another couple. He arrived at the U.S. border later that year; his pregnant wife was released on parole but he remained in ICE custody. On September 30, 2025, despite his resistance and pleas that he would be killed if returned, he was placed in a restraint jacket and forcibly deported on a flight from Alexandria, Louisiana. After the plane arrived in Tehran, ICE handed over his belongings—including his cell phone and communications with his lawyer—to Iranian authorities. The man, who is Kurdish, fled over 300 miles west to Iraqi Kurdistan that first night. His wife and newborn child, who remain in Kentucky, have not seen him since.

A cameraman was thrown to the ground and injured by ICE officers at 26 Federal Plaza while documenting the arrest of an immigrant at an asylum hearing. The cameraman was transported on a stretcher by emergency responders as part of the same incident in which multiple journalists were assaulted by federal agents.

A journalist working for a Turkish media outlet was injured and hospitalized after being thrown to the ground by ICE officers at 26 Federal Plaza during the arrest of an immigrant at an asylum hearing. The journalist was transported on a stretcher with a neck brace and remained on the ground for approximately half an hour before emergency responders arrived. FDNY was called at around 10:30 a.m. for a report of injury and transported one person to the hospital.

Broadview Police Chief Thomas Mills announced three criminal investigations into ICE operations at a detention facility in his village, citing repeated exposure of his officers to tear gas deployed by federal agents. Mills and Mayor Katrina Thompson criticized ICE's use of tear gas, pepper spray, and mace during protests at the Broadview Processing Center, stating the chemicals created dangerous conditions for residents and first responders exercising their First Amendment rights.

Photojournalist Olga Fedorova was shoved to the floor by ICE officers at 26 Federal Plaza while documenting the arrest of an immigrant at an asylum hearing. Fedorova, who was lawfully present in the public elevator, was pushed away from the elevator by federal agents. She disputes DHS claims that officers gave warnings before shoving, stating there was no warning and shoving followed immediately.

Miguel Angel Garcia-Hernandez, a 32-year-old Mexican immigrant and father of four with another child on the way, was shot on September 24, 2025, when a gunman opened fire at a Dallas ICE facility's controlled entrance. Garcia-Hernandez, who had lived in the U.S. since age 13 and worked as a painter, was in ICE custody after being arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence on August 8. He died from his injuries on September 30. His widow, Stephany Gauffeny, stated that he was the sole provider for their family and that they had just purchased their first home together.

L. Vural Elibol, a chief cameraman and videographer for Turkey's Anadolu Agency, was seriously injured when an ICE agent shoved him to the floor in a hallway outside immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan while he was documenting enforcement activity. Elibol hit his head on the floor near an elevator bank and remained unconscious for 35 to 40 minutes. Paramedics placed a neck brace on him and transported him by stretcher to a hospital, where he was treated for a possible concussion and kept for observation. Two other journalists—Dean Moses, a police bureau chief for amNewYork, and freelance photographer Olga Fedorova—were also grabbed and shoved by agents during the same incident but were not seriously injured. Eyewitnesses reported that ICE agents had been pursuing an immigrant into an elevator when Elibol was attacked while attempting to film the confrontation.

On September 30, 2025, at least three journalists were physically assaulted by masked ICE agents at 26 Federal Plaza while documenting an apparent arrest on the 12th floor. Dean Moses, police bureau chief for amNewYork, entered a public elevator to photograph ICE agents apprehending a woman when the agents grabbed him by his arms and shoved him out of the elevator. During the same incident, freelance journalist Olga Fedorova of the Associated Press was shoved to the floor by another ICE agent, and L. Vural Elibol of the Anadolu Agency was knocked down hard, striking his head and sustaining serious injuries that required hospitalization and a neck brace. Moses suffered minor pain in his underarms and shoulder but said he remains determined to continue covering proceedings at the courthouse.