Standing on a downtown Baltimore street corner Monday, a group of protesters called for the removal of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from across Maryland.
The People’s Power Assembly (PPA) organized the demonstration in direct response to the Christmas Eve shooting involving an ICE officer in Glen Burnie. In that incident, ICE has said its officers acted in self-defense.
While one goal of the protest was to raise awareness about ICE activity in the area, PPA organizers told WJZ they also want to pressure state leaders to take action.
Calling for an end to ICE enforcement
Protesters gathered at the corner of Hopkins Place and Baltimore Street, near the ICE Baltimore Field Office, holding signs and calling for the agency to be abolished.
They chanted, “ICE out of Baltimore! ICE out of Maryland!”
“All they had on the [people involved in Glen Burnie] was that they were suspected of being [undocumented] immigrants. We reject that,” said PPA organizer Andrew Mayton.
In a statement, ICE said officers shot Tiago Alexandre Sousa-Martins — whom the agency identifies as an undocumented Portuguese immigrant — after he attempted to ram other vehicles and officers.
According to ICE, officers first ordered him to turn off the engine, which he refused to do. Solomon Antonio Serrano-Esquival, whom ICE has identified as an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador, was seated in the passenger seat.
PPA organizers hope Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and other state lawmakers move to ban cooperation agreements some counties have with ICE, including 287(g) agreements.
Under 287(g) agreements, ICE authorizes local law enforcement agencies to carry out certain immigration enforcement duties.
A bill to ban 287(g) agreements did not reach Gov. Moore’s desk during the 2025 legislative session, but several lawmakers have said they are interested in introducing similar legislation in the upcoming session.
“ICE is its own department — there are no other collaborative efforts like this,” Mayton said. “All it does is put communities in danger.”
WJZ reached out to ICE for updates on the Christmas Eve shooting investigation but did not receive a response. On the day of the shooting, ICE released a statement calling for an end to what it described as “extremist rhetoric” directed at the agency.
“The incident, which remains under investigation, comes as extremist anti-ICE rhetoric and outright lies from politicians, the news media, activists, and violent agitators continue to fuel a more than 1,150% increase in assaults against ICE officers,” the statement said.
Sousa-Martins and Serrano-Esquival were taken to area hospitals and, as of the latest update, remain in stable condition.
Local ICE activity
The Christmas Eve shooting is one of the most recent examples of heightened immigration enforcement under President Trump.
Another case drawing attention is the detention of 22-year-old Dulce Consuelo Morales Diaz. She was taken into ICE custody while walking home from a Taco Bell in Baltimore, despite asserting that she is a U.S. citizen.
Her attorney, Victoria Slatton, has gained widespread attention on TikTok for videos about Morales Diaz’s case. Slatton posted a TikTok on Sunday saying her client has been transferred to a third detention facility after previously being held in Louisiana and Texas.
Slatton has said she possesses Morales Diaz’s birth certificate, immunization records, and other documentation proving her U.S. citizenship. The government, however, maintains that Morales Diaz is an undocumented immigrant and says she identified herself as a Mexican citizen to Border Patrol agents at the Arizona–Mexico border in 2023.
