Human Impact Project

A 33-year-old Guatemalan man was returned to the United States in June 2025 after a federal judge ordered his reinstatement following an unlawful deportation. Despite an immigration judge's February 2025 order barring his removal, ICE deported him to Mexico two days later, violating due process protections. U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy criticized the action as "blatant lawlessness" and ordered his return, after the Justice Department acknowledged its claim that the man had expressed no fear of being sent to Mexico was based on erroneous information. He was granted withholding of removal after demonstrating he would face serious harm in Guatemala, and his arrival back in the U.S. marked the first such return among several similar court-ordered cases.

Gladys and Nelson Gonzalez, who had resided in the United States for 35 years, were arrested and deported to Colombia in February 2025 after being detained by ICE during a routine immigration court check-in in Santa Ana, California. The couple entered without authorization in 1989 and had a 2000 deportation order. They maintained clean criminal records and had complied with regular check-ins throughout their time in the country. They had three U.S. citizen daughters and were involved in church work and volunteering. They were held for three weeks before deportation.

A 21-year-old Venezuelan man, Mayfreed Durán-Arape, was sent to Guantánamo Bay as part of a Trump administration policy to relocate detained migrants to the military base. DHS claimed he was a gang member. A review found he had no criminal record beyond unauthorized entry. His mother disputes the administration's characterization of a detention center altercation that led to his conviction.

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.

Undocumented day laborers in Los Angeles are preparing to help clear debris and rebuild homes after wildfires. ICE has conducted multiple raids across major U.S. cities and is planning large-scale enforcement operations. Workers like Luis and Jonathan are volunteering to help their communities rebuild while facing potential deportation.

Sergey Kostenyuk, a longtime Spokane resident who came to the U.S. from Ukraine as a child refugee more than 30 years ago, was arrested by ICE agents who posed as customers on Facebook Marketplace seeking to buy a chicken coop from his shed-building business. He was detained for over two months based on two 2018 felony theft convictions before a judge ruled he did not meet federal criteria for deportation and ordered his release. Kostenyuk runs the business with his partner of more than 20 years, Mary Lesotti, with whom he has two sons.

Harpinder Singh Chauhan, a 56-year-old British entrepreneur and father of two on an E-2 investor visa who had lived in the United States since 2016, was detained by ICE on February 11 despite lawful presence and serious medical conditions including diabetes, pancreatitis, asthma, and heart issues. He was shackled and transported seven hours to Krome North, where he spent nearly four days in overcrowded, freezing processing cells with no beds, showers, or privacy. ICE officers confiscated his insulin and asthma inhaler, which his family had delivered to the facility, and denied him prescribed medications and his dietary regimen. He contracted a respiratory illness amid an uncontained tuberculosis outbreak. At FDC, officers locked him in a cell without a functioning toilet or air conditioning and threatened him when he requested to move. On April 20, after nearly a week without insulin, Chauhan collapsed while standing in a dinner line at BTC and was hospitalized with signs of cardiac distress. His son Aaron could not obtain information from facility staff and discovered his father had been admitted under an alias name, "Hank Campbell." Officers transferred Chauhan back to BTC after three days in the hospital. Throughout detention, when he repeatedly asked about his personal possessions including his passport, staff responded with hostile all-caps messages. An officer mocked his name during roll call; the officer was briefly suspended with pay but returned to duty. In mid-May, facility staff informed Chauhan that his passport had been lost, further delaying his deportation. He was deported to the United Kingdom in June.

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.

Mariano, a Venezuelan migrant, fled Border Patrol in Tucson after his wife Yesenia was stopped by police while selling arepas. He hid under a car and was separated from his wife and two children for days. The article chronicles his journey from Venezuela through the Darién Gap and Mexico to the U.S., where he was detained in immigration facilities before facing deportation from Arizona.

Colombian migrants deported from the United States under President Trump's administration reported experiencing degrading treatment in detention centers, including cramped conditions, sleep deprivation, and mistreatment during transport. Daniel Vasquez, a 40-year-old migrant, reported being detained for over a week across multiple facilities in San Diego and Texas, transported in chains and handcuffs. The Colombian and Brazilian governments complained of treatment on deportation flights, including denied bathroom breaks. Some migrants reported willingness to attempt returning to the United States.

US officials kept approximately 100 deported Indian migrants in shackles for a 40-hour flight back to India, including during bathroom breaks and a refueling stop in Guam. The deportees reported being treated harshly and kept in shackles throughout the journey. Indian lawmakers protested in parliament and opposition parties burned Trump effigies. The incident occurred days before an expected visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the White House.

Harvinder Singh was among 104 Indian nationals deported on a U.S. military C-17 plane to Amritsar, India on February 5, 2025. Singh reported in a video shared by an Indian opposition lawmaker that he was handcuffed and restrained with chains around his feet for 40 hours and was not allowed to move from his seat during the deportation flight. His account prompted Indian lawmakers to call for dignity and humanity in deportation procedures.

Daler Singh, 37, was among 104 Indian nationals deported on a U.S. military C-17 plane to Amritsar, India on February 5, 2025. Singh reported that he and other deportees were kept in handcuffs and leg chains throughout the entire 18+ hour flight, with restraints not removed even during meals. Indian lawmakers protested in parliament over the alleged mistreatment, with Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar stating that while restraints are standard ICE practice for adult deportees, the conditions raised concerns about the manner of deportation.

Twenty-one Haitian immigrants, including 12 with criminal records, were deported from the United States on February 4, 2025. The deportees, who had been detained during the Biden administration, were received at Cap-Haïtien International Airport. They reported confiscated belongings and minimal reintegration support. Haiti's government provided minimal assistance.

A South Carolina man was arrested after a video showed him impersonating an ICE officer and confronting a Latino man in a pickup truck, telling him he would be sent back to Mexico. The arrest was followed by a similar incident at Temple University in Pennsylvania, where three men falsely identified themselves as ICE officers at a residence hall and cookie shop.

Franco Jose Caraballo Tiapa, a 26-year-old barber from Venezuela, migrated to the United States in 2023 with his wife seeking asylum due to political persecution and had no criminal history. He presented himself to ICE for a routine check-in in early February 2025 and was detained without being informed of the reason, though he reported being questioned about his tattoos. Without notifying his attorneys or family, he was deported to El Salvador's CECOT mega-prison under a Trump executive order allowing ICE to send noncitizens to third countries willing to accept them. His family learned of his deportation only after seeing videos of his arrival on social media, having expected him to be sent to Venezuela instead. His attorneys provided documentation proving his clean background and pending asylum claim.

Rafael Flores Martinez, a father and husband, was detained by ICE in February 2025 while working at his family's pupusa stand in Pacoima, California. He was held at Adelanto ICE Processing Center for over a year before being transferred to El Paso, Texas in June 2026, then to Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center. As of June 25, 2026, he was suspected to be at Alexandria International Airport awaiting deportation to El Salvador despite having legal grounds to file additional appeals.

F.A. and her two minor children fled Turkey after her husband was targeted for membership in the Gülen movement. After entering the U.S. in early February 2025 and repeatedly telling officials they came to seek asylum, they were expelled after nine days in detention on a military plane to Panama. Panamanian officials told them they could go to a detention camp in the jungle or return to Turkey. Fearing they would not survive, F.A. accepted return to Turkey, where the family now lives in hiding.

Lázaro Romero León, a 59-year-old Cuban who lived in the United States for over 30 years, was deported to Mexico by ICE in February 2025 despite a federal judge's order prohibiting his removal. As of May 2026, he remains stranded in Tapachula, Chiapas, homeless and without resources after multiple failed attempts to return him. A federal judge has threatened sanctions against the government, while a diplomatic gap between the U.S. and Mexico regarding wrongful deportations continues to complicate his case.

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.