The drama of immigrant deportations to the US, World Press Photo 2026 award
Photographer Carol Guzy has documented how the country's government separates families using an executive order from 2025 as a pretext
BarcelonaAfter two editions focused on the horror of Gaza, this year the World Press Photo has turned its gaze towards the deportations of immigrants to the United States and has decided to award American photographer Carol Guzy, of ZUMA Press and iWitness. Thus, the award for photo of the year goes to Separated by ICE, a photograph taken for the Miami Herald in one of the few federal buildings in the U.S. to which photojournalists had access. Guzy's image captures the dramatic moment when a family is separated by U.S. government agents.
The protagonist of the winning image is Luis, an Ecuadorian immigrant who was detained by agents of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after a hearing in the immigration court held in the Jacob K. Javits federal building, in New York City, on August 26, 2025.