Protests against ICE ramp up in Baltimore after unrest in LA

Benches at McKeldin Square were filled Monday as community organizers protested anti-immigrant speech from politicians and ICE deportations — rhetoric that’s flooded social media as tensions increased between progressive activist groups and federal agents after recent Los Angeles protests became violent over the weekend.

One speaker said Maryland Gov. Wes Moore “capitulated” when he said he wouldn’t interfere if ICE removed undocumented immigrants who had committed criminal offenses. Speeches and signs also rebuked U.S. foreign policy that protesters said destabilized the countries from which immigrants now flee and denounced America’s financial support of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.

Tonight’s protest at McKeldin Plaza is part of Baltimore’s Eyes on ICE, a weekly movement created by Free State Coalition. The group’s marches have been happening weekly since April 14, but Monday’s demonstration saw renewed interest on social media after the events in Los Angeles. Other advocacy groups, including Indivisible Baltimore County and the Baltimore Rapid Response Network, promoted the march as well.

“We’re hosting a protest action in solidarity with our fellow patriots in California tonight,” Amy Lee, the media liaison for Free State Coalition, told The Baltimore Sun in a statement. “Speakers from activist groups, including FSC and Indivisible Baltimore County, will share stories, resources, and fellowship with our neighbors.”

Isabel Lipman, who lives on the southeast side of Baltimore, said she came to the protest because of “fast approaching fascism,” and can’t believe “people are being kidnapped off the street and nothing is being done.” This is her second Eyes on ICE protest, but Lipman said she’s been protesting “pretty consistently” since President Donald Trump took office.

Protesters marched to the George H. Fallon Building, the home of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore. Two more demonstrations not under the Eyes on ICE moniker are set for this week — one of which was in Frederick Monday night. The third, which is organized by CASA, is planned for Wednesday at CASA’s Baltimore Center.

Protesting peacefully

Some of the messaging around Monday’s Eyes on ICE protest in Baltimore has been framed as an act of solidarity with Los Angeles, where demonstrations took place after ICE arrested 118 immigrants in the city last week. The anger devolved into unrest, with multiple arrests. Law enforcement repeatedly clashed with demonstrators, deploying tear gas and using non-lethal rounds to make them disperse, as some protesters set multiple vehicles ablaze.

Despite this, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said he wasn’t concerned about the Eyes On ICE protest becoming violent.

“I never have concerns with people who are exercising their First Amendment right as an American citizen to protest in a peaceful way,” Scott said. “We always will monitor things as they progress. We’ve seen protests against ICE happen in the city for quite some time now, and we haven’t seen any road to (violence).”

The Baltimore Police Department will be deployed to tonight’s march to maintain traffic flow and public safety. The department will “remain fully committed to protecting the rights of individuals to peacefully assemble and exercise their First Amendment rights,” said police spokesperson Lindsey Eldridge.

Previous Baltimore Eyes on ICE posts and demonstrations have shown support to immigrant communities in various ways. For example, last week the group held a protest calling for a nationwide boycott of Avelo Airlines, which agreed to run deportation flights for the Trump administration. Before that, the movement focused on encouraging government investment in education instead of ICE. Other marches have focused on showing solidarity with United Farm Workers and Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador in mid-March and who was returned to the U.S. on Friday.

Deploying the National Guard

Over the weekend, Trump deployed 2,000 National Guard soldiers in California. “These Radical Left protests, by instigators and often paid troublemakers, will NOT BE TOLERATED,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Sunday. “Also, from now on, MASKS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED to be worn at protests. What do these people have to hide, and why???”

U.S. Rep. Andy Harris, an Eastern Shore Republican, said calling in the National Guard “is a necessary step to restore order and uphold the rule of law,” in a post on X earlier Monday.

California lawmakers have lambasted the order, saying it will only inflame tensions. It is the first time since the 1960s that the National Guard has been deployed to a state against the wishes of its governor.

Maryland officials were similarly upset at the deployment.

In response to a post on X from Vice President JD Vance that said Trump would “not tolerate rioting and violence,” Rep. Jaime Raskin, a Montgomery County Democrat, referenced the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

“Nationalizing national guards without permission from the governor is completely illegal,” said Baltimore City Councilmember Odette Ramos, referring to Trump’s actions in Los Angeles.

Ramos recommended that people report any ICE activity in Baltimore to CASA, an immigrant advocacy organization, and said that “everyone should be protesting.”

“It’s horrible what’s happening – families who have been here for so long … invested in our city, chosen our city to be successful, and then the president is just basically snatching everyone who doesn’t look like him,” Ramos said. “It’s really shameful and horrible.”

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