ICE poised to ramp up raids in Baltimore by Thanksgiving
Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Friday made plans to lease two more buildings this month for officers conducting raids in the Baltimore area, a sign that the agency’s aggression in Maryland will intensify later this month, similar to what’s been seen in Chicago, Portland, and Memphis.
The Trump administration opened bidding on lease proposals for office space in Baltimore and Hyattsville, Maryland—a suburb of Washington, DC—just days after it successfully pressured Baltimore County officials to sign a mostly ceremonial document on its immigration policy. The memorandum reaffirms the county’s policy to alert federal authorities when detained immigrants are released from custody, but the Trump administration falsely spun it as Baltimore rolling out the red carpet for ICE.
“Despite restrictions from state leadership, Baltimore County has shown a willingness to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement,” the US Department of Justice said in a statement. “This is a small step toward restoring public safety and we appreciate the county’s commitment to updating its policies.”
The White House announced it would remove Baltimore County from a (made up) designation of “sanctuary jurisdictions,” and immediately began to set up shop. According to reporting by WYPR’s Scott Maucione, the administration secured a number of contracts for connected services in the weeks leading up to the designation, with physical office space to be made available last, once the tangential contracts were awarded.
Here’s a timeline of the Trump administration’s efforts to build immigration raid, abduction, and detention infrastructure in the Baltimore area:
Aug. 5: Department of Justice publishes list of sanctuary designations
Aug. 11: Trump states interest in sending federal law enforcement and military to Baltimore
Aug. 14: US Attorney General Pam Bondi sends a letter demanding compliance to dozens of sanctuary jurisdictions, including Baltimore County
Aug. 24: Trump threatens to withhold federal funding from Maryland and send troops to occupy Baltimore
Sept. 10: Department of Homeland Security sends warning letters to three other “sanctuary states”
Sept. 15: Bidding opens for vendor to provide detention meals in Maryland for six months, starting with 42,000 meals
Sept. 23: $233,000 contract for detention meals awarded to Kinro Manufacturing
Sept. 26: A ten-day bidding period opens for law enforcement office space with 70 workspaces and a server room in Baltimore
Sept. 30: $14 million contract for “furniture to support enforcement and removal operations” awarded to Price Modern in Baltimore
Sept. 30: $2.5 million contract for private security awarded to Bradley Technologies in Rockville, Maryland (the six-month contract began Oct. 1, and is already $300,000 over budget)
Oct. 22: DOJ sends Baltimore County a “memorandum of understanding” regarding cooperation with federal immigration enforcement
Oct. 27: Baltimore County signs memorandum of understanding
Oct. 30: A seven-day bidding period opens for law enforcement office space with 44 workspaces and a server room in Baltimore
Oct. 30: A seven-day bidding period opens for law enforcement office space with 35 workspaces and a server room in Hyattsville
An ICE spokesperson confirmed that the agency expects local law enforcement to fully comply with federal agents going forward, and they believe resistance to their expansion in the area will no longer be an issue.
“Per the current administration, ICE is working tirelessly to arrest and remove criminal illegal aliens and restore safety in our communities. The Baltimore Field Office looks forward to continuing to work with local law enforcement to prioritize public safety in Maryland,” the spokesperson said in a written statement. “Sanctuary jurisdictions weaken the integrity of our nation’s immigration laws and endanger the lives of our officers, alien offenders and most importantly, our communities, by forcing officers to make at-large arrests. Thankfully, this will no longer be an issue within Baltimore County.”
The timeline mirrors escalations against Chicago by the Trump administration earlier this year — and an attempt to avoid past mistakes. Over the summer, the government spent $7 million to relocate an unknown number of ICE employees to Chicago by Sept. 8. Once that contract was fulfilled, Operation Midway Blitz was publicly announced.
During the relocation, DHS spent $105,000 on porta-potties and laundry services for ICE operations in Chicago, $1.5 million on pepper balls and crowd-deterrent weapons, and identified federally owned buildings it could use as workspaces. Once all the pieces were in place, DHS ordered increasingly aggressive raids throughout the city, shooting protestors in the head with pepper balls and raiding one apartment complex with a Black Hawk helicopter.
The Baltimore County Executive has insisted that signing the memorandum has not changed the county’s policies at all, but whether or not the Trump administration will attempt to force cooperation remains to be seen.
Should DHS’ expansion into Baltimore follow a similar trajectory to that in Chicago, large-scale raids could begin as early as Thanksgiving.
Local activists are ramping up efforts to warn and prepare community members for a potential rise in ICE aggression in the area. Community canvasses are planned every Friday, and Eyes on ICE has weekly surveillance shifts near ICE field offices to provide a quick response and alert the public should they notice unusual activity at the facility.
Disappeared in America, an organization focused on locating those abducted by the federal government and holding the Trump administration accountable, plans to hold a protest on Saturday at a Home Depot where raids have been conducted.
