Two adults were taken into custody by ICE officers during a preschool graduation ceremony in Maryland, prompting sharp criticism from some of the state’s highest-ranking elected leaders.
Witnesses said children could be heard screaming as the arrests unfolded Thursday in the parking lot of Commodore John Rodgers Elementary School in Baltimore.
Footage recorded by a bystander appears to show two agents pinning a man to the pavement while trying to pull his arms behind his back to handcuff him. As the scene played out, the person filming can be heard shouting, “This is school property! It’s against the law!”
The incident comes just a month after Baltimore approved an emergency measure barring federal agents from carrying out enforcement actions and arrests in what the city defines as sensitive places, including public schools.
A second witness video, captured from another angle, shows agents detaining a woman after the man was arrested, while parents and small children hurried past the scene.
According to Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson, school officials said the two people arrested had entered the parking lot while being chased by ICE agents.
In a video Ferguson posted to X, he said that the arrested individuals had their children in the backseat, who screamed as their parents were ripped from the car.
The state senator added that ‘heroic educators’ brought the children inside the school as the arrest took place, ‘to try to protect them from these unbelievable and out-of-control federal agents.’ The agents quickly left after taking the parents into custody.
ICE agents arrested two adults at a Baltimore preschool on Thursday. The agents are pictured holding a man down on the pavement while trying to cuff him
Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson said that the agents were pursuing the people who were arrested before they drove into the parking lot
Video taken from a different angle shows a woman being taken into custody after the man was arrested
Parents and young children can be seen scurrying past as the woman was arrested
School officials said that the graduation ceremony and scheduled events for the rest of the day continued, and that they are working with local, state and federal agencies to understand more about the arrests.
It remains unclear whether the children of those arrested are enrolled at Commodore John Rodgers Elementary/Middle School. The identities of the arrestees, and whether they have any criminal history, are also unclear.
The Daily Mail has reached out to ICE and the school for comment and additional information.
The arrests were broadly condemned by Baltimore and Maryland officials, including the city’s mayor and the governor.
Mayor Brandon Scott issued a statement calling the arrests a ‘disturbing incident’ and said: ‘Let me reiterate, this type of enforcement is not welcome in Baltimore.
‘The presence of ICE has not made our city any safer, and in fact has led to greater fear and anxiety, especially for our immigrant neighbors. I stand with our immigrant families who have been impacted by detentions.’
The mayor also said that his office has reached out to ‘federal authorities to express our anger at this arrest occurring on school grounds.’
Maryland Governor Wes Moore likewise called the arrests ‘disturbing’ and released a statement that said: ‘Schools are places where children should feel safe, where parents should be able to drop off their kids without fear, and where educators should be able to focus on teaching, not where federal agents carry out immigration enforcement actions in front of children.’
Maryland Governor Wes Moore issued a statement condemning the arrests, which he called ‘disturbing’
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott also condemned the arrests and said, ‘The presence of ICE has not made our city any safer’
‘Let me be clear, Maryland will work with federal law enforcement when it makes our communities safer,’ the governor’s statement continued.
‘But actions that terrorize children, separate families in front of a school, and undermine trust in public institutions do not make us safer.’
Moore said his administration ‘is in direct communication with ICE leadership’ to understand why the arrests were conducted on school grounds and ‘to ensure this does not happen again.’
