Human Impact Project

Cpl. Jose Manuel Vilchis-Valle, 23, a U.S. Marine, enlisted in the military after recruiters promised that military service would help protect his family members from immigration enforcement, telling him "if you serve, and if you served honorably, you can help your parents." His mother, Maria Ursula Valle, 54, a Mexican immigrant who had suffered a stroke in 2021 and required ongoing medication, was detained by ICE on August 8, 2025, while attending a scheduled immigration appointment where she expected to secure parole in place. She was deported to Mexico within a week. Vilchis-Valle, who had served four years in the military and was honorably discharged shortly after his mother's deportation, expressed devastation over the outcome: "I gave four years of my life to this country... but knowing that this country doesn't want my mother makes me feel terrible." His sister Mia, who is studying nursing, described their mother as "a very kind lady." The family had believed the appointment would advance Valle's immigration case. An AP investigation found that more than 50 parents and spouses of active-duty service members have been detained since Trump took office for a second term, with at least six deported and one self-deported, despite eligibility for military parole-in-place and other immigration benefits.

Ursula Borja Valle, a 54-year-old Mexican immigrant and mother of Marine Cpl. Jose Manuel Vilchis-Valle, was detained by ICE on August 8-9, 2025, when she arrived at an immigration appointment to apply for Parole in Place—a military family benefit designed to protect immediate relatives of active-duty service members. She had lived in the U.S. for nearly three decades without a known criminal record and has three U.S. citizen children, including her son Jose (age 22-23) and daughters Mia, a nursing student, and a 15-year-old. After initial detention at Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach, she was transferred to US Border Patrol Central Processing Center in Texas and deported to Mexico on August 11, 2025. Her family had hired an attorney who filed an I-246 motion to stay deportation and launched a GoFundMe campaign to cover legal costs. Her son, who served four years in the Marines and was honorably discharged shortly after his mother's deportation, stated: "I gave four years of my life to this country. I feel honored to be here, that this is my country, but knowing that this country doesn't want my mother makes me feel terrible." Valle told her family by phone after arriving in Mexico: "Already had a life made there, so it's a bit complicated to be here because I never thought I'd arrive in this situation." Her sister María Constanza expressed concerns about her safety in Mexico, as their parents had passed away and she no longer has family support there. This case is one of more than 50 documented detentions of military family members under the Trump administration's immigration enforcement.

Alejandra Juarez, a Colombian national who lived undocumented in Florida for 20 years, was deported to Mexico, leaving behind her 16-year-old U.S. citizen daughter Pamela and her husband Temo, a naturalized U.S. citizen and former Marine. Her deportation was initiated following a 2013 traffic stop that exposed her undocumented status. A 2001 citizenship petition was rejected after she was accused of making a false statement during an asylum claim in 1998. Juarez chose to self-deport rather than face forcible removal, settling in Merida in the Yucatan with plans for her younger daughter Estela to join her. Temo remained in Florida to care for Pamela and maintain their roofing business.

Paola Clouatre, a Mexican-born woman and wife of a Marine Corps veteran, was detained by ICE on May 27, 2025, while breastfeeding her three-month-old baby during an adjustment of status interview. She spent two months in ICE's detention center in Monroe, Louisiana before being released after her husband and Senator John Kennedy's office advocated for her case. An immigration judge granted her motion to reopen her case and she was released while her legal process continues.

A federal judge in St. Paul placed U.S. Army veteran Ian Davis Austin on probation with restricted travel to Pennsylvania and Minnesota, a mental health assessment, and suspended firearm access, citing his conduct at ICE detention facility protests. Austin has been arrested four times since beginning protests against Operation Metro Surge, including twice during a hunger strike outside the Delaney Hall detention facility in Newark, New Jersey. He is among 40 people charged under the FACE Act following a January 18 protest at Cities Church in St. Paul, a group that also includes journalists Georgia Fort and Don Lemon. Activists outside the courthouse argued the ruling penalizes veterans for seeking treatment related to military trauma.

Juana McIntosh, a Guatemalan national and spouse of a U.S. Air Force member, was detained by ICE during a green card interview appointment at a USCIS office in Atlanta while her husband was deployed overseas. She had been granted Parole in Place as a military spouse and was in the process of adjusting her status when she was taken into custody based on a previous removal order from 2012.

On June 11, a former president of the Spokane City Council sent out an alert over social media. Two men, in the county legally and seeking asylum, had reported for an appearance in immigration court there. They were then detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, commonly known as ICE, at a Department of Homeland Security office in Spokane. The former council member, Ben Stuckart, urged followers to disrupt that enforcement. Among those responding to the call that day was Bajun Mavalwalla II, a Petaluma native and military veteran who had relocated to Washington. The resulting demonstration became confrontational. Protesters blocked an ICE bus as the agency attempted to transport the two detainees to Tacoma for immigration hearings, deflating the vehicle’s tires. Several people were arrested. Mavalwalla was not one of them. But a month later, on July 15, he got a knock at the door of his Spokane home at 6 a.m. Ten FBI agents were on hand to take him into custody.

Federal ICE agents raided Glass House Farms facilities in Camarillo and Carpinteria, California on July 10-11, detaining 361 adults and 14 minors. Hundreds of community members and family members of farmworkers gathered to protest, throwing rocks at enforcement vehicles while agents deployed tear gas, smoke bombs and pepper bullets, injuring protesters including at least one city council member. Workers inside the facility, fearing separation from their families, hid in underground water tanks and on rooftops during the raid. A 56-year-old farmworker died after falling 30 feet from a greenhouse roof, and the FBI opened a search for a man reported to have fired a gun at the scene. Judith Ramos, a 22-year-old certified nurse assistant, was sprayed with tear gas when she arrived to support her father, a detained farmworker. Rep. Salud Carbajal was denied entry while attempting congressional oversight, and National Guard troops in military vehicles also responded. Three men—farm worker Santiago, security guard and Iraq veteran George Retes, and professor John Caravello—were arrested during the operation.

Maisa Lopes Eliaser, a 32-year-old Brazilian national, was detained by ICE in early July 2025 during a scheduled adjustment-of-status interview at a USCIS office in Montgomery, Alabama, where she was seeking lawful permanent residency through her marriage to Army Staff Sergeant Alexis Jaramillo. Eliaser legally entered the U.S. on a tourist visa in June 2019 but overstayed it; she had previously applied for asylum and later sought a green card through marriage. Jaramillo, 43, who has served in the Army for 11 years as an aviation operations specialist at Fort Polk, Louisiana, was forced to take administrative leave to care for their 5-year-old stepson, Noah. Jaramillo told reporters the experience was "really overwhelming" and that he feels "betrayed" by the detention, saying "I need to take care of my kid by myself. No one is here to help me out." Eliaser is being held at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center. An AP investigation found that at least 52 parents and spouses of active-duty service members have been detained by immigration officers since Trump took office for a second term.

Anh Dung Cong Tran, known as "Tony," was deported to Vietnam in July 2025 after living in the U.S. for decades. He came to the U.S. in 1990 through a program for children of American military personnel born in Vietnam. Tran, 56, had a son, Antonio, who served in the U.S. Army as a specialist before being discharged in March 2025 following a serious injury. Tran had been making regular check-ins with immigration authorities following an assault conviction soon after his arrival in the U.S. His son said his father had persuaded him to enlist in the military in 2022.

Army Sgt. Hedar Leonel Turcios Juárez's wife, Cristy Maryori Villafranca Trejo, was detained outside a Walmart near Fort Bliss, Texas in July 2025 after missing an immigration court appearance, with the couple's 6-year-old daughter present. She has since been held at Camp East Montana, a detention facility on Fort Bliss, where Turcios said she developed an infection and went about a week without clean clothing. In August 2026, authorities attempted to deport her but removed her from the flight after a legal appeal was raised; Turcios said neither he nor his lawyer have received updates on her case from immigration officials.

A U.S. Marine Corps veteran spoke out after witnessing video of his father, Narciso Barranco, being beaten by masked Border Patrol officers during an immigration arrest in Santa Ana. Barranco, a landscaper who came from Mexico in the 1990s without legal status, was arrested outside an IHOP restaurant. While DHS claimed Barranco swung his weed trimmer at agents, witnesses posted videos showing officers punching him repeatedly as he lay on the ground.

Sayed Naser, an Afghan national who worked as a translator and contractor for U.S. military forces in Afghanistan, was detained by ICE agents in June 2025 during a hearing at a San Diego immigration court, after entering the U.S. legally in July 2024 under humanitarian parole while his asylum case was pending. On September 26, federal judge Gonzalo Curiel ordered his release from Otay Mesa Detention Center, ruling that the government violated his due process rights by revoking his parole without notice and placing him in expedited removal despite his pending case. Video of his arrest went viral, prompting veteran-run nonprofits Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and AfghanEvac to launch “Battle Buddies,” a program in which over 1,000 veterans now accompany Afghans to immigration hearings. Naser, reunited with friends and family after his release, said he remains hopeful because of the support he received from Americans.

An immigration judge dismissed the deportation case against Narciso Barranco, a Mexican landscaper arrested in Southern California in June 2025 during a Trump administration immigration crackdown. Barranco, who came to the U.S. in the 1990s without legal status, is now eligible for legal permanent residency based on evidence that he is the father of three U.S.-born sons serving in the military. The Department of Homeland Security announced it would appeal the judge's decision.

ICE agents arrested Paola Clouatre, a 25-year-old mother of two and wife of a Marine Corps veteran, at a USCIS office in New Orleans on May 27, 2025, following her permanent residence status interview. She was detained based on a final order of removal issued in 2018 that she was unaware of due to a missed immigration hearing by her mother. Her husband, Adrian Clouatre, is caring for their two young children while seeking to overturn the removal order through an emergency motion.

On June 11, two asylum seekers who reported for immigration court were detained by ICE in Spokane. A protest ensued where demonstrators blocked an ICE bus and deflated its tires. Military veteran Bajun Mavalwalla II, who participated in the protest, was arrested by FBI agents at his home on July 15.

Daniela Joly Serrano Landin, a 24-year-old Colombian asylum seeker married to an active-duty U.S. Army soldier, was arrested by ICE on May 12 after an ankle monitor malfunctioned, despite being granted parole. She was held at the Stewart Detention Center in Georgia and later transferred to El Paso Processing Center. On Wednesday, she was released on a $10,000 bond after a hearing where her attorney argued her case.

A 66-year-old legal permanent resident since 1967 and longtime legal assistant was detained by ICE at San Francisco International Airport on May 7, 2025, after returning from visiting his son, an active-duty U.S. Air Force member, in Japan. The detention stemmed from a 2009 misdemeanor DUI and drug possession conviction, though a CBP spokesperson later referenced additional arrests, including petty theft. After an immigration judge granted him relief and the government declined to appeal, he was released in early 2026 following nearly nine months in detention, including time at a facility near Bakersfield, California, and has returned home to San Diego. A GoFundMe campaign had raised tens of thousands of dollars to support his legal defense.

The wife of an active-duty Coast Guard officer assigned to USCGC Mohawk was arrested by Homeland Security Investigations during a routine security screening at Naval Air Station Key West on Thursday. The couple had married in early 2025 and were preparing to move into on-base family housing when the woman's name was flagged during visitor control processing. Her work visa had expired around 2017, and she had been marked for removal several years prior. NCIS contacted HSI, and agents entered the base housing to take her into custody. The woman's country of origin and current detention status remain unclear, though officials believe she is still being detained.

Hugo, a father of five and husband of a U.S. citizen veteran who had lived in the U.S. since age 16, was detained by ICE at a courthouse during what should have been a final hearing for permanent residency. Despite being in an active legal process and authorized to be in the U.S., officials ordered him to continue his case from Mexico and deported him. ICE later admitted the detention was a mistake, but Hugo has been separated from his family.