ICE ACTIVITY IN FREDERICK

Federal immigration enforcement activity in Frederick drew protesters, community observers and criticism from local officials after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents searched for a man near the Taskers Chance neighborhood.

ICE said agents attempted a vehicle stop Thursday morning targeting a man the agency described as a “criminal illegal alien.” According to ICE, the man fled from the stop, and a federal investigation remains underway to locate and arrest him.

Community members began gathering near Schaffer Drive and Stoneybrook Court to monitor the enforcement activity. City Council President César Díaz and City Council Vice President Katie Nash both spent time in the area Thursday and Friday. Díaz said residents and immigration advocates were there to observe agents, warn neighbors when enforcement vehicles were nearby and help people who were afraid to leave their homes. He estimated that about 100 people had come and gone over the two days.

Díaz said a confrontation developed Thursday after agents blocked a vehicle occupied by residents who had been observing the activity. He said agents threatened to break the vehicle’s windows and told people at the scene that Frederick police would not come to help them. Nash said she later had her own tense interaction with an ICE agent who told her he knew her name, license plate and where she lived.

The Frederick Police Department said officers were called to the area around 6:50 a.m. and responded only to maintain the peace. Police said they did not take part in immigration enforcement, did not arrest or cite anyone and did not witness threats to break vehicle windows while officers were present. FPD also said it was aware of an allegation that ICE agents used some level of force during an arrest but said it could not address that allegation.

Díaz credited Frederick police with helping de-escalate the encounter. He said ICE agents remained in the area afterward, leading observers to continue monitoring the neighborhood into Friday.

Mayor Michael O’Connor and Díaz later issued a joint statement saying immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility but objecting to tactics they said intimidated residents and disrupted the neighborhood. They also reminded residents that people may lawfully observe and record law enforcement activity from a safe location as long as they do not interfere.

County Executive Jessica Fitzwater also released a statement saying the county was monitoring the situation and that public resources should not be used to intimidate or harass communities.