Human Impact Project

Elder Chavez, an 18-year-old from Honduras who was granted Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) in September 2024, was detained by ICE in December 2024 after Alabama state police pulled him over for speeding and driving without a license. Despite presenting documentation proving his legal protected status, officers contacted ICE and took him into custody. Chavez came to the United States in 2022 at age 14 to live with his older sister Maryuri after being abandoned by his parents in infancy. A high school junior excelling in welding and carpentry classes, Chavez was transported to Winn Correctional Center in Louisiana, where he has remained detained for seven months facing deportation and unable to continue his green card application process. His English teacher Carmen Bahena, sister Maryuri, and local pastors Andy Yarnell and Beth Johnson have described him as kind, hardworking, bright, and gentle; since his detention, Chavez has missed prom, the birth of his nephew, and months of school.

Noemi, a Guatemalan asylum seeker, witnessed ICE agents smash a window of her family's car and forcibly remove her Mexican national partner from the vehicle while she and their three children (ages 1, 7, and 9) were inside an ICE office for a check-in appointment in December. Her partner was sent to Adelanto ICE Processing Center. The three children subsequently experienced significant emotional and behavioral regression, including depression, sleep disturbances, developmental regression (the 1-year-old returned to crawling), and academic decline.

Noemi, a Guatemalan asylum seeker, was at an ICE check-in appointment when immigration agents smashed the car window and forcibly removed her Mexican national partner, who had lived in the U.S. for nearly 20 years. Officers attempted to separate Noemi from her three young children (ages 1, 7, and 9) but the children's screams prevented separation. Her partner was sent to Adelanto ICE Processing Center. Since the detention, the couple's children have experienced depression, eating disorders, sleep disturbances, regression (including a 1-year-old reverting to crawling), and cognitive decline.

José Antonio González, 51, was deported to Mexico in December 2025 after nearly four decades in the United States, following offenses he committed as a minor in the 1990s for which he had already served his sentence. González arrived in the U.S. at age nine in 1987, worked as a painter and in retail, paid taxes, and was the primary provider for his U.S. citizen family including his 82-year-old mother. He spent six months in a Texas ICE detention center before being deported under an I-220B order, describing coercion to sign deportation papers after refusing twice. He is now living in Mexico and reports feeling more American than Cuban.

A dairy farm worker in New York's North Country was detained by Border Patrol. His girlfriend, Myrna Romero, spoke about the impact of the detention on their family, expressing concerns about freedom and safety in the country.

Carlos, a Venezuelan man with temporary protected status, was detained by ICE at a New Mexico immigration office in December 2025 after being called for what he believed was a reunification meeting with his 14-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter. Federal officials had previously vetted Carlos and told him his custody case was complete. When he arrived at the ICE office, officers attempted to force him to sign documents he did not understand. After refusing to sign, officers stripped his clothes, seized his belongings, and chained him by the neck, waist, and legs. Carlos said he felt "tricked" and that ICE "used my children to grab me." His two children had been in a federal shelter in Texas for nearly a year after crossing the border to reunite with him. According to reporting, the Trump administration's Office of Refugee Resettlement has begun coordinating with ICE to arrest parents and caregivers seeking custody of unaccompanied migrant children, reversing Obama-era restrictions on data sharing between the resettlement office and immigration enforcement.

Community organizers in Fontana, California are providing legal representation and mental health support resources to an Indigenous family in connection with immigration enforcement actions.

Fredy Arcenio Zavala-Baires, 25, a Salvadoran national who entered the U.S. as a child, was detained at an ICE appointment in November 2025 and deported to El Salvador on November 27, 2025, despite being married to Sgt. Nataly Castro, a seven-year Army National Guard veteran. An immigration judge issued a removal order against him in 2017, which was affirmed by the Board of Immigration Appeals in 2018. As of June 2026, Castro had spent over $3,000 in legal fees attempting to bring her husband back, while ICE officials maintained that Zavala-Baires received full due process and that clear legal pathways exist for military spouses seeking immigration benefits.

Alma Bowman, a 59-year-old Macon resident, was detained by ICE on March 26, 2025, during a routine check-in and held at Stewart Detention Center for 243 days until her release in late November 2025. Bowman claims U.S. citizenship as the daughter of an American Navy serviceman and was born in the Philippines. ICE asserted she was in the country illegally. This was her second detention; she had previously been held for three years (2017-2020) at Irwin County Detention Center following criminal convictions deemed deportable offenses. During her detention, Bowman reported inadequate medical care and overcrowded conditions. Her attorney argued the prolonged detainment violated her constitutional rights, and her citizenship status remained legally disputed throughout her custody.

San Diego Humane Society has taken in 18 pets from 11 owners since June 2025, operating at 173% capacity. Animals including Tita, a 4-year-old Chihuahua whose owners were deported, and Cata, a pit bull mix found in Mira Mesa after her owner's deportation, are among those left behind. The county Department of Animal Services has also received pets from deported individuals.

Joel Andre, a 16-year-old Deering High School student from Congo and a well-known member of Portland's Kennedy Park pickup soccer community, was detained with his family by Customs and Border Protection on November 12, 2025, at the Champlain Port of Entry after they attempted to seek asylum in Canada. The family had entered the U.S. without authorization in 2022, received a deportation order in February 2025, and had their appeal dismissed in October before being transferred to a family detention facility in Dilley, Texas. Attorney Todd Pomerleau secured the release of Joel and two family members after a federal appeals court paused their deportation while the asylum case continues, though his sister remains in detention. Joel returned to Portland and resumed playing in the Kennedy Park soccer league, where friends and teammates had raised money for his family's legal fees, and his school district and congregation mobilized support during his detention.

Abdellatif (Latif) Hafraoui, a 60-year-old Moroccan immigrant who had lived in the U.S. for nearly 40 years and worked about 18 years as a Manhattan building concierge, was detained by ICE agents at Newark Liberty International Airport in August 2025 as he and his American wife, Sandra, prepared to leave for a Florida vacation. He was held 108 days, mostly at Delaney Hall in New Jersey but also at facilities in Louisiana and Arizona, based on a 16-year-old deportation order issued in absentia after a notice was sent to the wrong address and his lawyer failed to inform him of a hearing. Hafraoui said he was pressured to accept deportation, placed in solitary confinement for 10 days after refusing to sign documents or board a flight, and witnessed guards abuse other detainees; he said agents later falsely claimed a ticket to Morocco had been purchased and attempted to put him on a deportation flight to Qatar even after a judge voided the original order. U.S. Rep. Rob Menendez's office intervened to help locate him during the transfers and advocate for his return to New Jersey. He paid a $15,000 bond and was released the day before Thanksgiving, though the government kept his passport, and he must wear an ankle monitor and report regularly to authorities while his green card application remains pending; he has not returned to work, and Sandra said legal costs have depleted the couple's savings and that he seemed traumatized after visits.

Two 16-year-old Venezuelan cousins were detained by ICE agents during a raid on their Detroit home in late November 2025. The teens arrived in the U.S. in 2023 and were formally seeking asylum with valid work permits. Both were students at Western International High School, where a teacher described one cousin as an excellent student eager to learn English. One cousin worked at Chili's. During the raid, agents also detained two of the teens' parents while searching for a different individual. All four family members were transferred to the South Texas Family Residential Center in Texas, hundreds of miles from their support network. Both teens had pending asylum cases scheduled for immigration court. Community members, students, and advocates held a rally at Clark Park calling for their immediate release.

Josue Rodriguez Perez, a Cuban immigrant who fled Cuba with his father in 1993 and held legal U.S. residency, was detained by ICE at a federal office in Miami in July while trying to renew his work permit. He spent 40 days in the Natrona County jail in Wyoming and was later deported in September to Mexico, a country where he has no ties. Rodriguez, a commercial truck driver with a valid U.S. work permit, is now sharing an apartment in Cancun with other deported Cubans, unable to be with his wife and family or see his brother, who is battling advanced cancer. He had lost his legal residency years earlier following a felony conviction tied to a car accident and subsequent addiction, but had since married, rebuilt his life, and worked as a truck driver.

Matthew Marrero and his husband Allan Dabrio Marrero attended a green card interview at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan on November 24, 2025. Allan was detained by ICE after it was discovered he had missed an immigration court hearing in December 2022 and had a deportation order against him, which neither he nor Matthew knew about. Matthew says they were told Allan could leave the facility but were then handed over to ICE agents, and he had only 30 seconds to say goodbye before they were separated. Allan has since been transferred to Delaney Hall ICE Detention Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Thi Dua Vang and her family found asylum in the U.S. in 2023 and she applied for her green card, which is awaiting final approval. ICE agents showed up at her doorstep, which Vang believed to be a mistake given her pending legal status.

Edwin Josue Padilla Molina, who entered the U.S. in 2013 as a 14-year-old and has lived continuously in Central Islip for twelve years, was detained by ICE on November 23, 2025 while driving his pregnant partner and mother-in-law. A federal judge granted his habeas corpus petition and ordered his immediate release, finding that his detention without an individualized custody determination violated federal law and constitutional due process rights. The court rejected the government's argument that he was subject to mandatory detention, ruling instead that he was entitled to a bond hearing.

Bryan Cuautle Romero, 29, a long-term U.S. resident married to a U.S. citizen with two U.S. citizen children, was detained at West Tennessee Detention Facility in Mason on November 21, 2025, after checking in at an ICE office. ICE invoked a mandatory detention policy for individuals without admission or inspection. Despite a subsequent Sixth Circuit Court ruling against the mandatory detention policy in May 2026, Bryan had already accepted voluntary deportation to Mexico with a final removal date of June 6, 2026. His wife Lauren plans to pursue an I-130 petition to bring him back to the United States.

ICE agents detained a 16-year-old high school intern at the Licht Judicial Complex in Providence on November 20, 2025, after misidentifying the teenager as their target. Superior Court Judge Joseph J. McBurney intervened, and agents verified their information and released the intern. Governor Dan McKee and Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos issued statements regarding the incident.

Victor Rodriguez Ocampo Sr., 54, longtime owner of La Playa Taco Shop in Pacific Beach, was detained by ICE agents outside his National City home on Oct. 31, 2025. He was held at Otay Mesa Detention Center before being deported to Mexico in January 2026. His son, Victor Jr., ran the restaurant in his absence before joining the Navy, and the taco shop, which had served the community for 30 years, permanently closed on Sept. 19, 2026.