Frederick, MD—A group of Frederick residents pulled together to defend the Taskers Chance neighborhood after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) staked out the area Thursday to Friday. The encounter lasted nearly 40 hours and involved scores of people – from the neighborhood itself, from Frederick, and from surrounding counties – working together to keep one another safe from the threat of ICE.
Reportedly, the stake out began when ICE pulled over an individual in Taskers Chance early Thursday morning and threatened to break their window if they did not exit the vehicle. Somehow, the person escaped.
After that, numerous ICE vehicles descended on the neighborhood, sitting at corners and on residential streets, quietly menacing the community. Some people were afraid to leave their homes. Parents did not know if they could safely bring their children to the bus stops, what with a black-tinted Nissan Maxima belonging to ICE now stationed by at least one of those stops.
Even more concerning, on the second day of what one observer called “a siege,” ICE pulled over a community member as they left Taskers Chance to go to work. Though the person was let go, they were badly shaken.
In response to this, the community organized a neighborhood watch to monitor agents’ activity. The residents formed impromptu watch points and began recording ICE movements. Volunteers watched over children as the busses dropped them off. They offered to escort at risk neighbors to work.
As the ICE stakeout entered a second day and word spread, others lent their support. One of those involved in the community effort spoke to DCMG on the condition that they not be identified. They remained in the neighborhood for about a day and served as an observer.
Video of previous ICE actions shared on social media have depicted ICE agents skirting legal boundaries by seizing people without warrants, macing and beating First Amendment protesters, ramming other drivers. and using deadly force to kill unarmed citizens. DHS has in many documented cases, skirted or ignored court orders and directives in response to legal challenges from immigration organizations.
The Thursday over Friday incident in Frederick was no exception to the spotted history of ICE tactics that have played out since this administration adopted a new formula for removal.
Video shared by the observer showed ICE vehicles driving at high speeds down residential streets, circling blocks as an intimidation tactic, and in at least one instant, driving through a stop sign without even slowing down.
In a separate incident on the second day of the stakeout, ICE drove aggressively towards a grandmother who was standing watch on a corner.
According to research by The Marshal Project, ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CPB) have taken 610,000 into custody and placed them in camps, more than the population of Wyoming.
All across the country, ICE, a sub-agency under the umbrella of DHS, has met growing resistance. DHS has drawn severe reprimands from judges and unprecedented reactions from citizens alike as the result of its removal program. The number of deaths of people in its camps was listed by Democracy Now as 57 as on September 4. Its secret flights and lack of notice of where deportees have been taken are raising questions as to international lawful conduct. ICE agents have kidnapped and disappeared 100s of thousands of immigrants since 2025, detained them in crowded cages inside makeshift camps, while under inhumane physical conditions, withheld due process, and deported them to third party countries not of their own origin. Many of the immigrants are legally in the U.S. and waiting in a long queue for citizenship.
The citizens at Tasker Chance were acting in defiance of nationwide federal policy of rounding up immigrants. The combined actions of the neighborhood represent a growing trend of citizens angry at ICE tactics and fearful of the repercussions, yet inspired anyway to organize against State sponsored violence against immigrants not having reached full citizenship.
Neighbors Stand In The Breach For Each Other
They described the neighborhood as “tight-knitted”with a concern of protecting their at-risk neighbors from harm and possible disappearance of their children.
The observer said that there were three levels of support. “There were people from that neighborhood, then there were people from Frederick, and after a call for help went out Friday morning, people from Montgomery County, Baltimore, Hagerstown, and surrounding areas showed up as well.”
There was a mix of experienced activists, some of whom were trained in ICEWatch and rapid response, and others who weren’t trained but just wanted to support their neighbors.
Outside groups began to mobilize to provide food and street medical technical support if needed. It would end up proving to be an important part of the logistics support in the hours to come.
Residents sat on corners in folding chairs holding signs and began their coordinating their 24-7 neighborhood watch. They had no idea how long ICE would be there.
”People organized watches for when the children got on and off the busses because ICE was posted up at a number of corners and intersections, and some of those places were bus stops. ICE wouldn’t move away when the kids were gathered there,” according to the source.
As the night fell, it became apparent what home ICE was targeting because they were parked in unmarked vehicles outside it. Neighbors formed a line outside the home on the sidewalk. They began dancing to music. Fed up with the neighborhood resistance, an ICE agent drove his unmarked vehicle onto the sidewalk in front of the targeted home, ordering the neighbors to get off the property. At the same time another ICE vehicle drove into the street blocking the neighbors from leaving via the street. Some walked onto the grass to avoid getting hit. Video shows the vehicle making contact with a woman. Per the observer, the woman’s foot was run over but her boots prevented injury.
The neighbors locked arms together and formed a human chain in front of the door of the home. ICE agents charged and pushed into them began beating the group. Several were injured. They were later treated by the street medical technicians. Video shows the brutality of ICE agents.
ICE agents went into the home after a youth opened the door. They did not find the person they were looking for. Once the house was cleared, ICE left shortly thereafter.
ICE agents detained one person who was near the porch but released them without charges on the side of a road some distance from the neighborhood.
The County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins showed up and ordered those not living in the neighborhood to return home. And they left.
The source commented on the neighbors who stood up against ICE tactics, saying they were courageous. “Courage isn’t the lack of fear. Courage is taking action despite the fear,” the source said.
Lessons Learned From The Two Day Siege
Several observations can be made based on additional information provided from the source. They reported having observed ICE activities in other neighborhoods in Maryland. This was the longest one of any duration that they observed.
ICE operations were conducted over three shifts for two days. The observer noted between 8 to 10 vehicles of the same make and models. Over 10 to 15 ICE agents were tied down per shift, diverting significant resources from other possible ICE operations areas while this 2-day operation took place.
The close knit neighborhood and network of support and non-violent posture led to a coordinated response from the neighbors and supporters who came to their aid. Many in the neighborhood served as watch outs and communicators of the ICE locations, placing ICE at a disadvantage.
The neighborhood took an interest in protecting itself from an unlawful ICE operation. Nothing the neighborhood did was illegal. They were exercising their First Amendment rights.
ICE, on the other hand is violating basic rights established in the Bill of Rights, such as due process and illegal searches. The time will come when those individuals who are ‘following orders’ will be made to answer for their actions.
There are other factors and details the observer confirmed that remain unpublished. The end result was no one was disappeared from the neighborhood. ICE did not maim or worse, kill anyone. Notwithstanding the injuries sustained by multiple activists, this was about as good a result as was possible.
The country is now in the midst of a serious crisis with respect to immigration enforcement. It has been argued that this is as bad as the period during WWII when the U.S. rounded up Japanese Americans. It is a period many will look back on and describe in unkind terms.
