Human Impact Project

Jacqueline, a Guatemalan immigrant who has lived in the U.S. for a decade, became pregnant while her husband was detained after a traffic stop and subsequently deported to Guatemala in March 2025. Left without income, transportation, or support, and fearful of ICE enforcement under the Trump administration, Jacqueline avoided leaving her home during her later pregnancy despite the risks. A local nonprofit clinic arranged and paid for Uber rides to enable her to continue prenatal appointments. Her 8-year-old U.S. citizen daughter and unborn child were left vulnerable as the family lost its primary provider and support system.

Domingo Juan Juan, a 49-year-old immigrant from Guatemala living in the U.S. without legal status, was detained by ICE on Feb. 12, 2025, in connection with a March 2024 crash near Seymour, Indiana that killed 27-year-old Brad Castner of Holton. Jackson County Prosecutor Jeffrey Chalfant said he contacted ICE to request Juan's detention, and deportation proceedings have since been initiated. Juan, who had never obtained a driver's license, was charged only with driving without a license; his detention was carried out under the Laken Riley Act, which mandates ICE custody for individuals facing charges tied to crimes resulting in serious injury or death. Castner's family attended a news conference on the case but did not speak.

Maria Gonzalez, a 32-year-old Venezuelan mother, and her two children (ages 7 and 9) were deported to Mexico within hours of being stopped for a traffic violation in Tucson, Arizona, on February 15, 2025. Tucson Police conducted an SB-1070 immigration check during the stop, leading to expedited deportation by U.S. Border Patrol without court hearings or a chance to seek asylum. The family had fled Venezuela in 2022, crossing the Darién Gap jungle before reuniting in Tucson, where they had found support through a local church congregation. Gonzalez's husband and two older sons, ages 12 and 14, remained in Tucson, separated from her and the two younger children after the deportation.

Four undocumented immigrants were taken into custody by Burleigh County Sheriff's deputies during a traffic stop and transferred to U.S. Border Patrol. One individual is reported to be an active associate with the Tren de Aragua gang from Venezuela. According to Burleigh County Sheriff Kelly Leben, arrests involving gang affiliations were rare in the county. All four individuals were scheduled for removal from the country.

Jose Alvaro, an undocumented immigrant from Central America applying for a green card, was detained by ICE after a Lubbock police officer pulled him over for a license plate issue and called federal immigration authorities. The traffic stop has left his U.S. citizen wife Ashley and their three U.S.-born children facing deportation proceedings. Advocates have noted that routine police interactions can lead to deportations.

Pavlo Mykolayovych Zinkevych, a 37-year-old Ukrainian man with lawful status under the Uniting for Ukraine program, was arrested by Frisco Police on January 26, 2025, for a minor traffic violation and suspected DWI. Despite holding valid legal status, a valid I-94, and a pending Temporary Protected Status application, ICE detained him for over three months and threatened deportation to war-torn Ukraine. An immigration judge stated she believed Zinkevych should not be detained, but lacks jurisdiction to order his release, while DHS maintains authority over his case and has remained unresponsive to legal requests.

A 37-year-old Raleigh man was arrested after allegedly kidnapping and raping a woman at a Motel 6 while impersonating an ICE agent and threatening to deport her if she did not have sex with him. The suspect, Carl Thomas Bennett, showed a fake business card with a badge and is facing charges including kidnapping, second-degree rape, and impersonating a law enforcement officer.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers pulled over a father traveling with his children in Douglasville, Georgia. Officers instructed the father to contact his wife, and the family initially believed he was the target of enforcement action. However, when the wife arrived at the scene, authorities detained her instead.

On January 23, 2025, ICE agents detained Giovanni Duran, 42, during a traffic stop in Echo Park, Los Angeles, while his wife Loreal and their children were present. Duran came to California from El Salvador at age 2, brought by his family, and had lived in the U.S. for nearly four decades, working as a busser in a Los Angeles sushi restaurant. He has prior convictions from 2012 and 2014 and a 2014 deportation order, and is now held at the Adelanto detention facility awaiting deportation. His 7-year-old son has required counseling after witnessing the arrest.

Erika was arrested by ICE agents on January 10 during a traffic stop on County Road 42 in Burnsville, Minnesota, as part of Operation Metro Surge. She was transferred to federal immigration detention in El Paso, Texas. She had no prior removal order and only misdemeanor traffic infractions. She filed for cancellation of removal and is awaiting a second immigration court hearing, remaining detained over five months after her arrest.

Lila Romero, 47, a Venezuelan psychologist living in Dallas, Texas, arrived in the U.S. in 2024 on a tourist visa and began applying for asylum. She was arrested during a traffic stop on January 9 after driving a family business vehicle without proper license plates, and was held for about three and a half months at the Bluebonnet detention center in Anson, Texas. While detained, she informally provided therapy to other women, diagnosing high levels of anxiety, panic attacks, insomnia and stress-related physical symptoms such as nervous hives, and she coped with her own confinement by treating the experience as a job. She now works helping immigrants and families affected by detentions and deportations, and has an immigration hearing scheduled for late September.

A 36-year-old father, Adrián Espinoza De La Cruz, and his 9-year-old daughter were detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Aug. 11 after leaving a United Way of Yellowstone County backpack giveaway in Billings, Montana, and were driven 250 miles to a detention facility in Havre. CBP said agents pulled over a driver at 10:15 a.m. near Overland Avenue; a federal judge later ordered the pair released, finding agents lacked probable cause or a warrant. United Way CEO Andrew Konkel said agents appeared to be staying at a nearby hotel and may have targeted families leaving the event, raising concerns about whether the event was being monitored for enforcement purposes. A second family was detained the next day after attending the same event and was later found to have legal status and released. Following the detentions, United Way warned more than 100 area nonprofits and began developing training on responding to immigration enforcement near community events.

Marvin Hernandez Lopez, who entered the U.S. in 2013 and has been living here with family and a business, was detained by ICE while traveling to work last month. He argues ICE is wrongfully holding him under a statute requiring mandatory detention instead of one allowing bond hearings. The court granted a temporary restraining order preventing his transfer outside Florida's Middle District while his habeas petition is pending, but denied his request for immediate release or bond hearing.

Eduardo was detained by ICE in January while driving home from work with a coworker. He was deported to Honduras within a week, leaving his wife Jennifer to care for their five children alone, ranging in age from 18 months to 12 years old. The family now faces financial crisis as Jennifer struggles to provide food, housing, utilities, and basic necessities on her own.

Jeferson Escalona, 19, a former Venezuelan police officer, was arrested by local Texas police in January 2025 for evading arrest and later detained by ICE. He was transferred through Guantanamo Bay to the Bluebonnet detention center, with DHS alleging gang ties based on hand gesture photos without evidence; Escalona denied the claims and sought voluntary return to Venezuela, which was denied. In late March 2025, he was among 17 Venezuelan men deported to El Salvador's CECOT prison, a move that occurred two days after a federal judge issued an order barring deportations of migrants to third countries without notice or a chance to contest removal. His attorney, with the ACLU, raised concerns about the government's allegations and said he was denied due process to challenge them before deportation.