Signs of Corruption and System Failures From The Stories of The Victims of Immigration EnforcemenT
Welcome to the ICE Files:
Carlos- #0301
A Venezuelan father with temporary protected status, did everything the government asked of him to reunite with his two children. He passed home visits, background checks, and even DNA testing. After officials told him his case was complete, ICE summoned him to an office under the guise of finalizing reunification. Instead, officers tried to force him to sign documents he didn’t understand; when he refused, “they stripped off his clothes, seized his ID and belongings, and chained him by the neck, waist, and legs” (1). He was detained for months under Operation Guardian Trace, despite having no criminal history, halting the reunification process and leaving his children in prolonged government custody. Although a federal judge later ordered his release, Carlos now has to restart much of the process to regain custody of his children.
#Caregivers #Released
“‘They tricked me,’ Carlos said in a phone call from an immigration detention center in El Paso, Texas, where he was held for several months. ‘They used my children to grab me,’ he said” (1).
Gael Valencia (5 Year Old)- #0302
A 5 year old with significant developmental delays, was detained with his parents during a routine immigration check‑in, despite the family having pending asylum claims and no criminal history. Before detention, he had been undergoing evaluation for autism and relied on a specialized diet to manage severe constipation. In detention, his condition deteriorated sharply, he had not been able to poop in nine days, according to his mother and he struggled to eat, gagging when he tried. His stomach became visibly distended, and he grew increasingly distressed, at times hitting himself, behavior his parents had never seen before. His parents described the facility as unable to meet his medical or developmental needs, and advocates who spoke with him called his treatment neglectful and harmful.
#Children #InadequateConditions #Disabled/Sick
Deiver (9 Year Old)- #0303
A gifted student who had recently won his school spelling bee was detained with his parents at the Dilley family detention center. In detention, he told Ms. Rachel during a video call that the food made his stomach hurt, the lights never turned off, and he missed his friends. He said what he wanted most was simply to leave so he could compete in the spelling bee he had worked so hard for. His detention has cut him off from school, opportunities he earned, and the normal life he was building, leaving him anxious and desperate to return to the world he knows.
#Children #InadequateConditions #Disabled/Sick
Yerson, Kelly & Maria Vargas- #0304
Yerson and Kelly Vargas and their 6 year old daughter, Maria, were detained for two months at the Dilley Detention Center. ICE agents threatened to forcibly remove them with chains and handcuffs if they didn’t board a plane, and the family was deported to Colombia with almost no notice. They were not allowed to retrieve any of their belongings from their home in New York, losing their car, clothing, household items, and their daughter’s toys. Maria had entered detention healthy but left with emotional regression and a documented eye injury after a staff member accidentally struck her with a mop handle. Now in Colombia, the family is struggling to rebuild their lives while their daughter continues to talk about being in “jail” and shows signs of trauma.
#Children #InadequateConditions #Disabled/Sick #LawyerDenial #Deported
Jacelynn Guzman- #0305
A 22 year old U.S. citizen was chased by masked federal agents during a large‑scale immigration sweep. She was walking home from a corner store when unmarked vehicles surrounded her and masked men in tactical gear ran toward her, prompting her to flee to her house in fear of being kidnapped. Home security video captured her shouting “Leave me alone!” as agents pursued her. Guzman has no criminal record but believes she was targeted because she is Hispanic. DHS later said she was mistakenly identified as someone with a deportation order and left once they realized she was not the target. (Would a deportation order be grounds to pursue a woman in an unmarked van without identifying themselves as agents?)
#ExcessiveForce
Salah Sarsour- #0306
A Palestinian legal permanent resident and president of Wisconsin’s largest mosque was detained in Milwaukee by nearly a dozen ICE agents who surrounded his car. His attorneys say he was arrested on the claim that he is a “foreign policy threat,” which they argue is baseless. They believe he was targeted because of his outspoken criticism of Israel and an old conviction from Israeli military courts, a conviction the government had known about since he immigrated in 1993. Sarsour has no criminal record in the US, has lived in the country for more than 30 years, and his wife and children are citizens. His arrest sparked strong backlash from religious leaders and elected officials, who called it politically motivated and an abuse of immigration authority.
#GreenCardHolder
Joffre Alexander Jara Llangari- #0307
A 19‑year‑old from Ecuador was driving in Minneapolis when Border Patrol agents attempted to stop him during a large immigration enforcement operation. According to DHS, he sped away, crashed into a tree, and fled on foot with a passenger. Cellphone video captured an agent chasing one of the teens, tackling him to the ground, pinning him, and handcuffing him as he yelled in Spanish that he was legal. DHS later identified the teen as Joffre and claimed he had previously been served a notice to appear in immigration court. Both he and the passenger were taken into custody, remaining detained pending removal proceedings.
#ExcessiveForce
Majok Bior- #0308
A refugee from South Sudan and top Duke University student on a full scholarship, became stranded abroad after the U.S. abruptly revoked visas for South Sudanese nationals while he was visiting family over winter break. Despite maintaining strong grades and planning for medical school, he was told his visa was “invalidated” and placed on indefinite hold, preventing him from returning to campus. He tried to stay on track through study‑abroad programs in Germany and later Ireland, but visa barriers caused him to miss multiple semesters. Now living in Uganda, he volunteers with a refugee education nonprofit while anxiously checking his stalled visa status, fearing his chance at completing his Duke education may slip away.
(1) https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/he-had-a-full-ride-at-duke-until-america-cut-him-off/ar-AA1ZkZx6 (2) https://www.wsj.com/world/africa/student-visas-africa-trump-19de038b?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=AWEtsqeWeEtAvfMCUkcA95kxKepeyxZsPWbZvFbkwPkup50H94c5Ax1Ibi-u55gxfYQ%3D&gaa_ts=69d078c1&gaa_sig=tJzjhEu2PllWXNCgB5ZuTlP6wcBfyWe8Q9zF-lGcBkbvyIdL6sJMlAHBkx_phpKg8EsLAhIXG-W0flDXlL0q0w%3D%3D
Adrian Ramirez- #0309
A New York resident who was mistakenly taken into ICE custody, transported to Louisiana, and left stranded there with no way home. ICE had wrongfully identified him as someone eligible for deportation, even though he was legally allowed to be in the U.S. After days of confusion and no assistance from the government, a stranger who learned about his situation stepped in, bought him a plane ticket, and helped him return safely to New York. The incident highlights serious errors in ICE’s detention and transport system, as well as the lack of safeguards to prevent U.S. residents from being swept up and shipped across the country without due process. #DefiedDueProcess #LawyerDenial #Released
John Bol Ajak- #0310
A former Syracuse basketball player who overstayed his student visa and spent more than a month in ICE custody, agreed to voluntary return back to Sudan. Ajak came to the U.S. at 14 as a refugee and later played three seasons at Syracuse. In the weeks before his detention, Ajak had become homeless and his student visa had expired while he was trying to re‑enroll in graduate school. ICE transferred him from local custody to federal detention facilities in Buffalo and then Pennsylvania. Ajak had built a life in the U.S. and founded a charity supporting children in Africa. Representing himself in immigration court, he acknowledged the visa overstay and chose voluntary departure over a deportation order, saying he never wanted to return to the U.S. if this was how he had to leave. He remains detained at the Moshannon Valley Center in Pennsylvania while awaiting removal.
Yeison Cortes Vasquez- #0311
A longtime New Jersey pastor with no criminal record, was detained by ICE while working his food‑delivery job. DHS says he entered the U.S. from Colombia in 2016 on a tourist visa and overstayed it, and is detained at Delaney Hall in Newark pending removal proceedings. His church community and national Latino evangelical leaders say he has been a devoted pastor for years and argue that detaining a non‑violent religious leader during Holy Week is cruel and unnecessary. Members of Congress who visited him criticized his arrest, noting that the deportation operation was supposed to target violent offenders but instead swept up a pastor and father who had lived peacefully in the U.S. for a decade.
#Caregivers
Pio Figueroa- #0312
An Alabama business owner detained by ICE while driving to the bank with $21,000 in cash from his store. After his arrest, he was transferred to the Winn Correctional Center in Louisiana, where he told his family the conditions are harsh and food is scarce. His family says the $21,000 he had at the time of the arrest has disappeared, and ICE has provided no documentation or explanation. Because ICE officers do not use body cameras and local police were not involved, his attorney says there is no clear way to track what happened to the money. Figueroa’s detention has left his wife and four children struggling.
#DefiedDueProcess #Released #InadequateConditions
Maryan Slagle- #0313
A Colombian asylum seeker married to an Army veteran was taken into ICE custody after appearing in Recorder’s Court for a minor matter. She had fled Colombia after being targeted by FARC and was previously granted parole while her asylum case was pending. ICE detained her despite her ongoing asylum claim, her marriage to an active‑duty service member and green card application. She has been held at the Stewart Detention Center for months, and the couple now fears she may be forced to return to Colombia, where her life is in danger. #Veteran&Family
Angelina Godinez‑Lopez- #0314
ICE agents in plain clothes forcefully detained her at the airport in front of her young daughter, prompting bystanders to fear she was being kidnapped because the agents refused to identify themselves. Video of the incident went viral, showing the child crying as her mother was handcuffed and later wheeled through the terminal. DHS later confirmed the arrest, saying Angelina and her daughter had a final order of removal from 2019 and were being escorted for deportation when Angelina allegedly tried to flee. The incident sparked outrage from San Francisco officials and lawmakers, who condemned the aggressive tactics and emphasized that local police were not involved. DHS says the family is being prepared for repatriation to Guatemala.
#ExcessiveForce #Caregivers