Investigative Reporter Tracee Wilkins rode along with ICE in Maryland as they targeted undocumented immigrants who were ordered to leave the country.
It’s mid-morning in Hagerstown, Maryland, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been at work for hours. They’re part of President Donald Trump’s ramped-up efforts to deport undocumented immigrants.
After hours of surveillance, a team the News4 I-Team witnessed made its third arrests of the day.
"We're with immigration. We have a warrant for your arrest,” one of the agents told a 47-year-old Venezuelan man stopped as he approached his work van. ICE said he had a history of drug and weapons convictions, but no pending criminal charges.
"So, eventually he did end up leaving his house, and we were able to apprehend him before he took off,” explained Matt Elliston, Maryland’s ICE director. "We don't have any reason to suspect the wife's here illegally."
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They left the man’s car keys in the mail drop box because his wife didn’t open the door.
It already had been a busy day for ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations team. The I-Team watched as agents met up at 4 a.m. in a shopping center parking lot.
"Today we're going to have three targets,” one of the agents said to the group, which was joined by
members of Homeland Security Investigations and members of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
"We look for public safety threats, right? Gang members, sex offenders, felons,” Elliston said.
According to ICE, all the targets on this day had final orders for removal, meaning an immigration judge ordered them to be deported. They used what is called administrative warrants to make the arrests.
"If we're unable to arrest them in a public area, we'll try to get a criminal warrant from the U.S. attorney's office so we can break the door down," Elliston said.
Elliston said early mornings are better for his team since most of the targets leave their homes early for work.
"Arresting someone where they're half-asleep at 5 o 'clock in the morning is less – there’s, statistically, there’s less likelihood they’re going to fight back," he said.
As for who they target: "All we do is targeted enforcement. We use intelligence-driven leads. We know the targets that we're going after. We don't do dragnets. We don't go door to door. That's never something that ICE has done,” said Elliston.
But there is a difference from previous administrations: Elliston’s team can make what's called collateral arrests of undocumented immigrants they come across who are not facing additional criminal charges.
"We're still targeting that worst of the worst person, you know, except now if we come across someone who's standing next to him, who's also here illegally, we're going to take that person too," said Elliston.
That happened after agents waited for more than two hours near the home of a man from El Salvador. ICE said he was convicted of DUI and negligent manslaughter. The stakeout was something they could not have done last year due to a 2011 policy that limited them from targeting people near sensitive locations such as schools and churches. That policy was rescinded in January by DHS.
"This is a great example of why we changed the sensitive locations policy, because this building behind us is a Baptist church, you know. Despite us not doing anything at the church, like, we wouldn't even be allowed to be parked in a parking lot. Really, anywhere within like a two-block radius of here," said Elliston.
Elliston said he's constantly fielding calls asking about possible ICE enforcements at schools. He said that has not happened in Maryland.
After agents pulled over the man from El Salvador, they also detained his brother, in a collateral arrest.
"We also know that his brother was prior deported. So, he's been removed from the United States previously," said Elliston.
Immigrant advocates raise concerns
Some immigrant advocates tell the I-Team they’re worried these stepped-up arrests are unfair to some.
"This is a total change and an escalation in how immigrants are being treated," said Michael Lukens with AMICA Center for Immigrant Rights, which works to help detainees know their rights.
"I think what really concerns me is, you don't look at someone who was born in the United States, who had a criminal background, and say, ‘Well, they are a criminal forever.’ Right? You don't label them a criminal and make them a second-class citizen. Why is it OK to do that for an immigrant?” he asked.
Ama Frimpong is the legal director of CASA.
"Tensions are definitely much, much higher. I think that there is there is a lot of concern within the immigrant community right now,” she said.
Part of that fear, according to Frimpong, is for families who might lose a parent or breadwinner to deportation.
"I see, you know, moms, right? Who are trying to console their kids. And, you know, trying to tell them that everything will be OK when truly they don't know whether everything will be OK,” she said.
When asked by the I-Team why immigrants are willing to risk deportation, she answered: "Because for a lot of people, this is a better life."
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"I think the real danger here is that immigration advocacy groups are telling people, don't cooperate. Don't come to the door. Don't stop your vehicle. You know, all of these things that could then lead to criminal prosecutions," said Elliston.
But advocates say immigrants do have the right to remain silent and not open their door unless the agents have a signed criminal arrest warrant.
"Correct. Correct. And now, the difference is … it is a much easier process for us to obtain that warrant signed by a judge," said Elliston.
While Elliston hears the concerns about ICE, he said his team is following the law. During one of the arrests on the day the I-Team watched, a woman in a car drove by cursing at his agents.
"It's really a lack of education. So, the average person, no matter where you fall on the political spectrum, if they would stop and say, ‘Hey, like, who is this person? Like, why did you guys arrest him?’ And I'd say, ‘He just did 12 years in prison for, you know, dealing narcotics here in Hagerstown. This guy's spreading poison on the streets.’ This is not a political issue; this is a public safety issue. The people of Maryland are safer today because of what we did," Elliston said.
Reported by Tracee Wilkins, produced by Rick Yarborough, shot by Steve Jones and Jerry Lawlor, and edited by Steve Jones
