4 days ago
Video shows ICE agents facing backlash while detaining people in Baltimore
Clashes between Baltimore-area residents and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently played out on video on social media.
The videos show ICE agents detaining people in a shopping plaza in Catonsville, and residents trying to chase agents out of their neighborhood in Highlandtown.
Highlandtown community pushes back on ICE presence
WJZ obtained video from a Highlandtown resident that shows people outraged as ICE agents pull people out of their corner.
Baltimore City Councilman Mark Parker confirms ICE agents detained two people between 11:15 a.m. and noon on Sunday, June 8, near the intersection of E. Baltimore and Ellwood streets.
Several residents who spoke off-camera told WJZ that it was disturbing and concerning that ICE agents, who they say did not identify themselves, were arresting people in their neighborhood.
"As a new homeowner in Patterson Park, I'm proud of how my neighbors showed up for our fellow humans," a Highlandtown resident said. "No person is illegal and doesn't deserve this type of treatment."
Video shows ICE making arrest at Maryland shopping plaza
Another social media video in Catonsville shows someone being detained near the Ross Department Store.
"Now you're treating people just like they're animals, that's not right," said Lee, a Catonsville resident. "I wouldn't feel right if somebody just walked up to me today because you're Black, we [are] taking you in. I just don't think it's right. I don't think it's fair to be doing people like that. That's a human being. They're not a dog."
Noah, a Hampden resident, told WJZ that he works with some people whose family members have been detained by ICE. He says he disagrees with the Trump administration's policy, and people are entitled to due process.
"What they're doing is, to a degree, understandable, but how they're doing it isn't, isn't understandable," Noah said. "You can't hop out in masks with no badges and just take people. I work with these guys, a lot of people who they're taking, and in my opinion, they work harder than most of the people who are from here."
Baltimore joins national protest over ICE operations
On Monday, June 9, hundreds of immigration advocates marched from McKeldin Plaza to the George H. Fallon ICE Field Office in Baltimore in protest of immigration enforcement actions.
The group blocked Calvert and Pratt streets on their way to Lombard and Charles streets, into the Hopkins plaza.
Organizers of the weekly Eyes on ICE protests said the movement called on the Trump administration to stop violating human rights.
According to organizers, the administration plans to spend $48 billion to expand immigration while also firing federal workers and cutting services that are vital for communities.
"Everyone who sets foot in this country is entitled to due process, and we are watching what ICE is doing, and we hope that someday they will be held accountable for their actions," said Amy Lee, from the Free State Coalition.
Among the crowd of protesters was Nilsa Yurivilca, who immigrated to the United States from Peru more than 10 years ago. She says many migrants are in search of a better life or opportunity.
"A lot of people who immigrate, it is not a choice," Yurivilca said. "They want to just find happiness, safety, and a better future for their future generation…I am an immigrant myself, and I fully feel the targeting of this administration."
Trump responds to nationwide ICE protests
President Trump responded from the Oval Office on Tuesday to ICE protests nationwide.
"They [the Biden administration] opened up our borders for the whole world to come in," Trump said. "Yeah, we're going to get them out. We're getting them out."
ICE shares video of Baltimore arrests
On May 27, ICE shared a video of agents arresting several people near a Home Depot on Eastern Avenue in Baltimore.
The video posted to social media captured the moments as ICE agents jumped out of a pick-up truck at the "big-box home improvement store" and detained several people.
The agents were heard telling the group to stay down, show their hands, and be quiet.
Immigration enforcement officials said a tip led them to the shopping center where five people were arrested for allegedly being in the U.S. illegally.
