As social media and news coverage is flooded with a relentless stream of images showing immigrants being rounded up, masked federal agents shooting rapid responders, and government officials defending those actions as self-defense despite video evidence showing otherwise, Baltimore organizers say that the way to fight fear and hopelessness is building strong, community-based networks.

In a cold, dimly-lit church basement, about three dozen people gathered for an ICE watch meeting on January 8, the day after an ICE agent fatally shot legal observer Renée Nicole Good, a Minneapolis resident and mother of three. 

Shorty, a longtime Baltimore activist, told the group her killing should serve as a wake-up call about militarized law enforcement and practices that have long shaped life in Baltimore.

“This ain’t new to me,” Shorty said. “It’s new to you. Now it’s coming down to where you’ve been living. The only power they really have is fear — and if you take that away, you start taking your power back.”

Growing numbers of Americans are actively documenting and resisting ICE in cities where enforcement has intensified. That backlash has sharpened after ICE killed Good and the Trump administration defended the officer responsible, claiming “absolute immunity.” Then on January 24, a day after thousands of Minnesotans and hundreds of businesses took part in a general strike to demand ICE leave the state, federal agents killed another legal observer. Footage from bystanders shows agents pinning registered nurse Alex Pretti to the ground before shooting him multiple times at point-blank range, contradicting Trump administration claims that he posed a threat.

In neighborhoods like Ednor Gardens, activists have been going door-to-door since last year to share Know Your Rights materials and build an ICE watch group focused on training, mutual support, and community connection.

For months, as ICE has continued operating regularly in Baltimore, activists and immigrant rights groups have been quietly building capacity in anticipation of a far larger escalation in raids and arrests. Organizers say they have drawn lessons from the strategic successes of ICE watch groups in other cities and the very real risks that come with this kind of organizing.

ICE is compiling a list of anti-ICE activists who film or track its operations, branding them “domestic terrorists,” according to one ICE agent captured on camera and reporting by independent journalist Ken Klippenstein.

In response, Baltimore organizers have leaned on word of mouth and secure communication platforms like Signal to verify possible ICE activity and coordinate responses. While such tools offer increased security, they remain vulnerable to government infiltration. Activists say building trust at a neighborhood level is a key to keeping networks secure.

In neighborhoods like Ednor Gardens, activists have been going door-to-door since last year to share Know Your Rights materials and build an ICE watch group focused on training, mutual support, and community connection. Since then, neighborhood organizers have trained hundreds of residents from other neighborhoods, helping activists to launch ICE watch groups in a dozen communities across the city.

As ICE activity increases in Baltimore, organizers recommend that anyone planning to observe or document enforcement actions first attend a rapid response training. These trainings are designed to help people identify ICE activity accurately and to avoid spreading panic or misinformation.

“S,” a longtime Baltimore community organizer who withheld their full name because of safety concerns, said residents are responding in the ways they know best: by building community and relying on networks that already exist.

“We’re seeing people reach out to each other in their neighborhoods — knocking on doors, sharing contact information, making sure folks know their rights,” they said. “Baltimore has that in droves. We know how to show up for each other, and that’s what people are doing now.”

S said this kind of organizing isn’t new to the city. It’s a response Baltimore has turned to before, particularly when institutions have failed to protect the most vulnerable.

“At the end of the day, we’re all we’ve got,” they said. “So we try to take care of each other, block by block.”

The White House has taken aim at cities like Baltimore that limit cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities, using false claims about so-called “sanctuary” policies to fuel the administration’s white nationalist narrative that portrays nonwhite immigrants as inherently criminal to justify mass detentions and deportations.

With the Maryland General Assembly in session, groups like CASA, the leading immigrant advocacy group in the state, are calling on Democrats to protect civil liberties and strengthen protections for immigrant communities.

Senate Bill 245, sponsored by Senator William C. Smith Jr. (D-Montgomery County), would ban local law enforcement from entering agreements to cooperate with ICE.

“These 287(g) agreements harm public safety in our community,” said Ama Frimpong, CASA’s legal director, at a press conference in Annapolis ahead of a Senate hearing on the legislation.
“They destabilize Black and Brown communities through terror and family separation, turning our local police into a weapon against our neighbors. Maryland should not be complicit in federal policies that abuse immigrant communities.”

Senate Bill 1, sponsored by Senator Malcolm Augustine (D-Prince George’s County), would prohibit law enforcement in Maryland from wearing face coverings, a key feature of the immigration raids under the second Trump administration. “Masked law enforcement apprehending people is familiar in oppressive, totalitarian countries. It’s done to intimidate and terrorize,” said Augustine during the bill’s introduction. “I get the calls from my constituents, and it’s real. It’s very, very real.”

Senate Bill 977, sponsored by Senator Clarence Lam (D-Montgomery County), would update a 2025 privacy law to stop warrantless access to state records by federal immigration enforcement. Advocates say the bill is designed to prevent ICE from using DMV records and other government databases to identify and track immigrants and people who observe or document ICE activity.

Know Your Rights

Advocates emphasize that knowing your rights and how to respond legally to immigration enforcement is a critical form of protection. As federal agents increasingly take actions that violate civil liberties and the rule of law — including asserting authority to forcibly enter private homes in ways that violate Fourth Amendment protections — advocates say it is especially important to understand your rights so you do not unknowingly consent to unlawful searches or seizures, since any evidence gathered may later be used against you in court.

 Some key principles widely shared in “Know Your Rights” trainings and legal guidance include:

  • You do not have to open your door without a warrant: ICE must present a judge-signed warrant to lawfully enter a private home. Federally issued administrative warrants for immigration arrests do not, under longstanding Supreme Court precedents, authorize warrantless home entry in most cases.  
  • You can film officers in public spaces: Documenting enforcement activity on your phone or camera in public areas is lawful, and recording can provide crucial evidence if rights are violated.
  • Ask if they have a warrant: If agents claim they have a warrant, ask to see it; any warrant should clearly list the address and be signed by a judge.
  • Do not answer questions beyond identification: You can choose to remain silent and request an attorney if detained or questioned.
  • Prepare emergency contacts and legal support: ICE encounters can happen without notice; having contact information for legal aid, translators, and community groups ready can be vital.

How to Document ICE Activity

Advocates encourage observers to avoid sharing unverified information and rumors and to follow the the SALUTE method when documenting ICE activity and to share that information only with trusted rapid response networks:

  • Size: How many agents or officers are present?
  • Activity: What are the agents doing? If someone is detained and you know their A-number or date of birth, note it.
  • Location: Provide an exact address or intersection, including street type (Avenue, Street, Road).
  • Uniform(s): Note any visible agency identifiers, patches, or vehicle markings (e.g., ERO, HSI, CBP).
  • Time: Record the precise time the activity was observed and share it quickly.
  • Equipment: Note visible equipment such as weapons, flex cuffs, dogs, vans, SUVs, or door-breaching tools.

More information on the SALUTE method is available here: nysylc.org/ice-watch