Maryland congressional delegation demands answers over ICE clash in Frederick

Maryland lawmakers are calling for answers and an independent investigation into a clash between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, protesters and community members in Frederick County earlier this month.

Members of Maryland's congressional delegation sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and ICE Acting Director David Venturella expressing "serious concerns" about an ICE operation in Frederick on Sept. 3 and 4.

The lawmakers are requesting an "immediate, independent, and transparent investigation of the tactics ICE is deploying in our state."

"The tactics used by ICE officers detailed by eyewitnesses and exposed in videos circulating online are alarming and necessitate more information as to how the recently-merged Washington-Baltimore field office and the agency are enforcing our immigration laws," the letter states.

ICE officers were in the Tasker's Chance neighborhood on Sept. 3 and 4. While agents did not make any arrests, they clashed with neighbors who were blocking agents from reaching a home, according to witnesses.

Tatianna Santos, who lives in the Tasker's Chance neighborhood, told CBS News Baltimore that protesters were chanting on the sidewalk and blocking the street.

Some protesters also tried to block access to a home they believed was being targeted by ICE. The confrontation later turned violent, according to Santos and local activist Soolah Kemp.

Santos said she saw people leave the scene with visible injuries.

"People with scrapes on their foreheads, somebody was concerned about their hand being broken, somebody else had scratches on their back," Santos said.

Kemp said she witnessed ICE agents use force against protesters.

In their letter, Maryland lawmakers are asking DHS and ICE for a detailed description and timeline of the operation, including documented evidence such as body camera footage.

They are also asking:

• Whether ICE has a policy allowing officers to use vehicles to clear an area of peaceful observers.
• Whether that policy allows officers to hit or threaten to hit observers with their vehicles.
• Why an ICE officer would tell a legal observer that the agency had their name and information and knew where they lived.
• How ICE obtained that information and how the agency uses it.
• How ICE's use of force during the operation aligned with DHS use-of-force policies.
• Whether ICE secured an arrest warrant before entering a home while reportedly pursuing a target.

"Recently, ICE reportedly conducted an approximately 40-hour immigration enforcement operation in one neighborhood of Frederick, Maryland," the letter states.

"Videos released by observers revealed that on Friday evening the operation turned violent as a dark law enforcement vehicle with flashing lights drove down the sidewalk toward observers, hitting one of them. Another video depicted ICE officers using a baton to beat a protestor and dragging another from the front steps of a home that ICE was attempting to enter."

The letter also alleges that an ICE officer approached a local elected official during the operation and told her that ICE knew her name, license plate and where she lived.

"If true, this is deeply disturbing and appears to be an attempt to intimidate local elected officials," the lawmakers wrote.

Maryland lawmakers are asking DHS and ICE to respond by Sept. 30, 2026.

The letter was signed by U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks and U.S. Representative April McClain Delaney, along with Representatives Steny Hoyer, Kweisi Mfume, Jamie Raskin, Glenn Ivey, Sarah Elfreth and Johnny Olszewski.

CBS News Baltimore has reached out to DHS and ICE for comment and has not heard back.