Human Impact Project

A 26-year-old refugee known only as Adam, who fled forced military conscription, was granted protection from removal by a US immigration judge but was secretly deported to Equatorial Guinea in November 2025 under a third-country removal deal. He has been confined alone in a hotel room under armed guard for nearly a year, and was recently handcuffed and beaten by security officers who warned him not to speak out.

Alejandro, 33, from Mexico, works in Minnesota to support his family back home and has a pending asylum appeal after his initial claim was denied. He had been held in custody since May — first by local law enforcement, then ICE — until a judge ruled on Sept. 22 that his arrest was unlawful and ordered his immediate release. On Sept. 25, after being given back his belongings at the Whipple Federal Building, Alejandro made it just outside the front doors before plainclothes immigration agents handcuffed him again, with one agent telling him through translation that "just like they could release me, they could arrest me again."

Pedro Mendoza Chávez, 63, was violently taken down by ICE agents during a landscaping shift in the Fresno and I-10 area of San Antonio, Texas, suffering a cracked skull and a broken arm. His wife, Ruvelina Vega, said he had already surrendered and stopped running when an agent kicked him to the ground, causing his head to hit the concrete; agents have claimed he was resisting arrest. Vega was initially barred from seeing him or learning his location, and an officer falsely told her he had merely fallen. Mendoza Chávez, who has lived in the U.S. more than 22 years and has three minor children with Vega, received staples for his scalp wound before being discharged and is now held in ICE detention, still in severe pain and without having received a full medical exam.

A man was struck by a car while ICE agents pursued him on foot near Jersey City's Liberty State Park light rail station on a Wednesday evening around 6:20 p.m., and the driver fled the scene. City officials said an ICE agent was also hit by the vehicle, with both the agent and the man sustaining minor injuries. Footage showed agents handcuffing the man on the sidewalk and placing him in an ICE vehicle before an ambulance took him to Jersey City Medical Center, where agents and the man later entered the emergency room. The mayor's chief of staff said Jersey City police were not involved in the pursuit or arrest and only responded afterward to complete an accident report, adding that such ICE operations "put residents and bystanders at risk." ICE said it had transported a patient in custody for medical evaluation and that standard protocols were followed.

Retired Wayne County judge Michael Callahan said a convoy of eight armed ICE officers arrived at his metro Detroit home in August, falsely claiming they only intended to place an ankle tether on his foster son, a Congolese refugee who had lived in the U.S. for more than seven years, attended every required ICE check-in, had no criminal record and worked full-time as a truck driver. The officers had no warrant or court order, according to Callahan, and took the foster son into custody once he stepped outside. DHS disputed that officers used a ruse, saying they identified themselves as law enforcement, and a federal court declined to block the deportation after the government cited a 2019 final removal order. About two weeks after his arrest, he was flown to Cameroon, a country where he has no known ties, despite having been granted protection from return to his native Democratic Republic of Congo, which he had fled due to violence tied to his father's political opposition activity.

Carlos Rodríguez, a Cuban migrant, was one of five deportees who refused to leave the ICE deportation plane upon landing, saying they did not feel safe; he says officers carried him off the aircraft and beat him while he was handcuffed. He and three other Cubans, along with a Brazilian, had been told by authorities that if they stayed calm they would be returned to the United States, but the plane instead delivered them to Equatorial Guinea. "This is human trafficking, they trafficked us on a plane," he told EL PAÍS.

Santiago Merlo, a Colombian man living in California, posted his car for sale on Facebook Marketplace. Months later, a purported buyer using the name "Brian" arranged to meet him to see the vehicle. When Merlo arrived, he says about 10 patrol units with federal agents were waiting, and he was handcuffed and detained. Merlo says he had a valid work permit and a pending asylum application at the time he was later deported to Colombia.

Anastasio Tomas, a 16-year-old student at Chattanooga Preparatory School who had lived in the U.S. since age six, was deported to Guatemala along with his mother, Maria Vasquez-Mazariegos, and another family member after ICE arrested them on September 16, 2026 in Chattanooga. Tomas said agents stopped the family on their way to school, did not give them a chance to explain their immigration case or speak with a lawyer, and falsely told them they were being taken to see a judge. ICE said the family had received a final removal order in 2019 and had not left the country. A GoFundMe campaign, which received a $2,000 donation from Chattanooga Prep's founders, is raising money for legal fees to help Tomas return to finish his education.

Edgar Martinez, 33, was detained by ICE outside his West Phoenix home near 83rd Avenue and Lower Buckeye Road after agents allegedly posing as electricians cut power to his house to lure him outside. His partner, Marisol Lopez, said the agents wore construction-style vests, tampered with the exterior electrical box, never identified themselves or showed a warrant, and pinned Martinez to the ground before detaining him. Lopez said Martinez had no serious criminal record and was applying for a T visa as a victim of human trafficking, while ICE said he lacked lawful status and cited two prior domestic violence misdemeanors. He was being held at a detention facility in Florence, Arizona due to capacity issues elsewhere and was set to appear in immigration court. His sister-in-law, Clara Armenta Aguilar, launched a fundraiser for legal fees and bond, describing him as a devoted husband, brother, and son whose wife has been with him since they were 15-year-old high school sweethearts. The family said they previously experienced the deportation of another relative in June 2019 and are praying for his return.

Sirena Prosper, a hairdresser and mother of seven who owns Royal Hands Salon in Pompano Beach, Florida, was detained by ICE agents at her shop's back door on September 14, 2026, while her three youngest sons, ages 14, 12 and 10, watched, one recording on his phone. Family members said agents refused to return her son's ID unless she came to the door, then grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her out of the shop; ICE said she resisted arrest. Prosper was born in the Bahamas to Haitian immigrant parents and has lived in Florida since infancy, but faces deportation to Haiti, a country relatives say she has never known, based on a 2002 final removal order tied to a 1998 armed burglary and larceny conviction. Her family said her removal had previously been canceled due to a medical emergency and that she had complied with ICE check-ins for two decades. She is being held at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center, a facility advocates say saw two deaths over the summer. Relatives, who describe her as a loving mother and hairdresser, held a prayer vigil outside her salon and are caring for her children while seeking to halt her deportation.

A Boston federal judge ordered the release of Eleandro Almeida de Souza, a Brazilian citizen who has lived in the U.S. since 2019 with no criminal convictions and no final removal order, after finding he credibly rebutted ICE's account of his August 14 arrest. De Souza's lawyer said he was violently cut off and pinned by multiple unmarked cars without sirens or lights, prompting him to flee out of fear, contradicting ICE's report that he ran after being identified as law enforcement. An immigration judge had initially ordered him detained as a flight risk based on ICE's arrest report, but U.S. District Judge Brian E. Murphy later ruled that ICE was no longer entitled to a legal presumption that its official reports are truthful, citing a "litany of deception and outright falsehoods" in the agency's representations to courts, and noted de Souza's account aligned with other disputed ICE arrests, including that of Rümeysa Öztürk.

Marof Montanary, known as "Frenchy," a bodybuilder with aspirations of competing at Mr. Olympia, was detained by ICE agents during what he and his partner initially believed was a routine traffic stop while driving to a wedding in Omaha, Nebraska. Agents separated him from his partner and their three dogs, shackled him, and transferred him to a detention facility in Leavenworth, Kansas. Facing high legal costs, Montanary and his legal counsel decided he will pursue a structured voluntary self-deportation while his partner works to file a petition to bring him back to the U.S. legally in the future.

Wilfredo Giron, a construction worker and father, was taken into ICE custody after someone posing as a potential client contacted him about a job, luring him into an encounter that resulted in his detention. He has been held for more than two weeks, leaving behind his wife, Rachel, who is pregnant, and their 2-year-old son. The family is raising funds for immigration attorney fees, legal filings, and a potential bond to secure his release while his case continues.

Five men from an extended Mexican family in Snohomish County — described as fathers, husbands, uncles, godfathers, and primary breadwinners — were detained by ICE during a Labor Day weekend camping trip at Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest near Granite Falls, Washington. U.S. Forest Service rangers first visited the campsite over a reported trash complaint and photographed the men's identification; one individual who had posed as a ranger later returned armed with a rifle as ICE 'backup.' Just before midnight, armed ICE agents returned, initially identifying themselves as police before revealing they were immigration officers, shook tents, and handcuffed the men one by one in front of children ages 1 to 14 and a pregnant mother. Carmen, 19, said she watched agents arrest her father, uncles, and godfathers, and that the experience traumatized younger cousins who had viewed the campground as a safe retreat. Families said they had no cell service and could not reach a lawyer or the detained men until after the holiday weekend. DHS said four of the five men had no criminal record aside from a 2016 misdemeanor negligent driving conviction, citing prior voluntary returns to Mexico, a 2021 driving-related arrest, and unlawful entry as grounds for removal proceedings. The men remain at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, and families are raising roughly $100,000 for legal fees and living expenses while fearing transfer out of state. Washington Governor Bob Ferguson called the detentions cruel and ordered a legal investigation, while Representative Pramila Jayapal demanded answers about whether federal land management staff improperly facilitated civil immigration enforcement.

Jesús Bracho, a San Antonio father, and his 9-year-old daughter Katherine, a student at Bonnie Ellison Elementary School, were detained near Loop 410 and U.S. Highway 90 in San Antonio. Bracho said ICE agents arrested him during a traffic stop, then released him and forced him to lure Katherine out of their home so agents could detain her as well. The two were held together for more than a month at the South Texas Immigrant Processing Center in Dilley. U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro visited the family and said Bracho was moved to tears with guilt, believing he was responsible for his daughter's detention. Their case drew concern from family members, activists, and Katherine's classmates before the two were released together from Dilley.

Ledgar Ramses Delgado-Reyes, a 25-year-old Venezuelan man who entered the U.S. seeking asylum in 2023 and was granted work authorization, was reunited with his wife, Madeline Ramos-Delgado, in Las Cruces after posting a $14,000 bond following nearly a year in immigration detention. Reyes said he was called in to sign paperwork correcting an address discrepancy and was told it would be quick, but was instead detained by ICE officers. His attorney said an immigration judge found he had no criminal history, was not a flight risk given his U.S. citizen wife had relocated to be near him, and had a possibility of success in his pending asylum claim. His family raised the bond money through a GoFundMe campaign.

According to an airline gate manager, two men in plain clothes identified themselves only as federal officers and asked staff to summon a passenger to the gate. When the manager asked for identification, the men revealed previously hidden badges and said they were ICE agents; after the passenger approached, they took her into custody. The manager asked to see a warrant, and the officers presented an administrative warrant rather than a judicial warrant before handcuffing the woman and driving away in an unmarked vehicle.

Ibrahim Mohammed, a 44-year-old Ethiopian national who came to the U.S. in 2014, was granted protection from deportation in 2024 under the Convention Against Torture after an immigration judge found he would likely face torture or persecution if returned to Ethiopia. Despite federal court orders in February and March requiring his release, roughly 10 ICE agents arrested him a third time on July 28, 2025, at his Baltimore-area apartment after falsely telling him and his attorney his ankle monitor was malfunctioning. Agents shoved his head into a car and gave him documents referencing Eswatini, a country ICE had previously tried unsuccessfully to deport him to. A judge again ordered his immediate release the same day, and U.S. District Judge John deGravelles later held then-ICE deputy field office director Vernon Liggins, who ordered the arrest on his last day in that role, in civil contempt, ordering ICE to pay Mohammed's attorney's fees and $180 for lost time. Mohammed, who spent 13 months in and out of ICE custody, testified the repeated detentions caused him nightmares and led his landlord to force him to move out.

Esteban Rios Sosa, a Mexican national who has lived in Oceanside, California since 1988, was detained with his wife by ICE at the gate of Camp Pendleton while visiting his pregnant daughter, who lives on base with her active-duty Marine husband. Rios Sosa's son, a former Marine Sergeant, said the family held deferred action status tied to his wife's pending U visa petition and had valid work permits that should have shielded them from enforcement. After being fitted with ankle monitors and told to report for a routine ICE check-in, Rios Sosa was instead taken to a federal building basement and deported to Mexico within 24 hours, without notice that his status had been revoked. His son has accused ICE and DHS of discrimination and false accusations of criminal activity, and the family sued the agencies for violating federal law and due process rights. A federal judge later ordered the government to immediately facilitate Rios Sosa's return to the U.S. and restore his immigration status.

Alberto Enriquez, a Mexican immigrant with longtime ties to Catholic parishes in Denver and Gillette, Wyoming, was arrested by ICE in Tampa, Florida, after traveling there for what he believed was an appointment to secure Military Parole in Place based on his daughter Bettsaida's service in the U.S. Navy. His wife, Karina Gonzalez, and daughter Karibett say he was led to believe the appointment would grant him legal status, but he was instead taken into custody and is now held at Baker County Detention Center in Sanderson, Florida. Married for 29 years with seven children, four still living at home, Enriquez had previously volunteered extensively at St. Cajetan's Catholic Church in Denver and later helped launch a Hispanic ministry at St. Matthew's Catholic Community in Wyoming. His family says his decades-old domestic violence conviction, which he pleaded guilty to under difficult circumstances, is now being used to justify his removal, and they are struggling to find an attorney licensed in the jurisdiction where he is being held before what they fear is a fast track to deportation.