ICE detains 2 people on public school grounds in Baltimore

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained a man and woman Thursday morning in front of a building where Commodore John Rodgers Elementary/Middle School students attend classes.

It’s the first reported time immigration enforcement has taken place on school property in Baltimore since President Donald Trump retook office last year and initiated a countrywide immigration crackdown. The early morning incident in the driveway leading to a building on Fait Avenue near Dundalk where Commodore John Rodgers students are temporarily attending class was recorded by bystanders.

Video obtained by The Banner shows two agents in vests that say “POLICE ICE” wrestling the man on the ground. “Stop resisting!” an agent shouts.

To the left of the officers is a car with what appears to be a smashed window. ICE agents have been recorded breaking windows to reach people they’re trying to arrest inside their cars. A woman is in the driver’s seat. Behind her is a young girl, crying and screaming.

“My dad didn’t do anything,” says the girl, leaning out of a backseat window.

Two bystanders recorded the incident. One can be heard yelling repeatedly, “This is school property.” In the background, a woman who appears to be taking her child to school runs, a pink lunchbox in her hand as she ushers the child away from the scene.

In a call sent to school parents, Principal Marc Martin said officials “are aware of a federal immigration enforcement action that occurred on our campus this morning.”

“While some members of our school community were significantly impacted, students and staff that were not involved remain safe, and we will continue with our scheduled activities today,” Martin said. “We are working closely with district leaders to assess the situation and determine any necessary next steps.”

An ICE official told Maryland superintendents earlier this year that ICE would not enter school buildings or do any staging on school grounds. Though agents have been getting closer to school campuses in Southeast Baltimore, this appears to be the first time immigration activity has occurred on school property in the city.

About 40% of students at Commodore John Rodgers are Hispanic, and over a third are learning English. Other schools near Patterson Park that have been dealing with increased ICE presence also have large Hispanic student populations.

The video was recorded in a traffic circle outside the school building, where an hour later three police vehicles were parked. To the right is a parking lot. Parents who arrived just after 9 a.m. to attend graduation ceremonies or to pick up their children had to wait for a staff member to let them into the area.

In the video, officers wrestle with the man for several minutes while the adult woman in the car yells in Spanish that the agents are going to break his arm. It’s unclear if all three officers in the video are ICE agents.

The agents eventually handcuff the man and walk him to an unmarked black Dodge Charger with a Maryland license plate. One of the people recording the encounter can be heard saying that the man’s feet are bleeding and that he was just dropping kids off at school.

“He just ran over an officer a few minutes ago,” an agent in a navy polo shirt shouts back. “If you don’t mind, let us do our jobs.”

That agent then walks back to the vehicle with the woman and girl still in it and says, “Either you get out, or you’re going to jail.” Another agent joins him at the driver’s side of the car.

In a second video reviewed by The Banner, agents detain the woman who was in the car.

Baltimore City Public Schools could not provide further details about what unfolded. The Baltimore Police Department and ICE did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

About an hour after the incident, parents walked the same driveway where the morning incident took place, clutching tiny hands and hoisting oversized balloons on their way to their children’s preschool graduation.

This story will be updated.