ICE Enforcement Fear Drives Customers, Workers Away From Highlandtown Businesses

A red Nissan has been parked outside a Highlandtown shop for two months. Its driver, according to the owner, was arrested by immigration enforcement officers — and hasn't come back for the car.

That detail, small and concrete, captures what business owners along this stretch of Southeast Baltimore say has become a new daily reality. Villegas, an American citizen originally from Mexico who has run her shop in the Highlandtown area for roughly 20 years, estimates her clientele has dropped by 50% as fears of encountering ICE agents keep customers home. The cost of everyday goods, she added, has made things worse.

"People have been afraid to walk around because of immigration officers," she said.

Highlandtown, one of Baltimore City's most densely immigrant communities, has seen increased immigration enforcement over the last six months. The effects have rippled far beyond the moments of detention themselves. Juan Nuñez, a business owner, son of an immigrant, former Board President of the Highlandtown Merchants Association, and founder and executive director of Dominicans United of Baltimore, said what was once a vibrant commercial neighborhood shifted almost overnight. "There's chaos, there's confusion," he said. "We want people to come out and shop and dine. We're one of the most diverse business communities in Baltimore City and there's hardworking families that we really need us to come together more than ever."

Angelo Solera, founder of Nuestras Raíces Inc., put the stakes in starker terms. "Right now, people are saying: 'Do I go to work or do I get arrested by ICE?' People are afraid, they don't feel they have a choice," he said. "We're telling people, 'be careful.'" Solera noted the fear is not confined to Latino-owned storefronts; big-box retailers like Walmart have felt it too.

The fear has a documented flashpoint. Baltimore City Councilman Mark Parker confirmed that ICE agents detained two people between 11:15 a.m. and noon on June 8, 2025, near the intersection of E. Baltimore and Ellwood streets. Residents who spoke to reporters said the agents did not identify themselves. Video obtained by WJZ showed residents attempting to chase agents out of the neighborhood. "You can't hop out in masks with no badges and just take people," said a man identified only as Noah. "I work with these guys, a lot of people who they're taking, and in my opinion, they work harder than most of the people who are from here."

The following day, hundreds of immigration advocates marched from McKeldin Plaza to the George H. Fallon ICE Field Office, blocking Calvert and Pratt streets en route to Lombard and Charles streets into the Hopkins plaza. Organizers of the weekly Eyes on ICE protests called on the Trump administration to stop violating human rights.

City officials have been working to reach business owners directly. Catalina Rodriguez Lima, director of the Mayor's Office of Immigration Affairs, said immigrants' fear of leaving their homes has created economic ripple effects across the neighborhood. "People are moving with extreme caution and saving for whatever could unfold," she said. Christopher Lundy, director of the Mayor's Office of Small and Minority Business Advocacy and Development, said his office began fielding calls from business owners as soon as enforcement activity intensified. "As soon as we saw an uptick in enforcement, we really already started hearing from the business owners. A lot of employees were concerned about their well-being and ability to go to work," he said.

In at least one case, what residents feared was an ICE operation turned out to be Baltimore City officials visiting Highlandtown businesses to explain how to protect themselves and their employees if agents did approach.

Not all fear is grounded in confirmed incidents. Rumors and social media reports of ICE sightings have spread rapidly through the neighborhood, and the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs issued a warning urging residents to rely on credible sources before sharing information about sightings "that can harm our community." One man, identified in reports only as Barranco, said he and a friend left a restaurant after hearing secondhand that ICE had picked someone up nearby.

Some business owners have moved past fear into preparation. One owner who employs a predominantly immigrant workforce, speaking anonymously due to safety concerns, said the workplace had taken steps ahead of what they expect to be a significant escalation, pointing to last year's high-profile raids across Baltimore, which included over a dozen arrests at grocery stores, convenience shops, restaurants, and a Home Depot. "It's really hard and feels pretty shitty, honestly, to be running a workplace where you can't guarantee people's safety but financially can't offer a better alternative," the owner said. Coordination among business owners has proven difficult; the same owner said they have been trying to find ways to connect "without raising any attention."

Other owners have pursued legal training for staff, posted signage designating private spaces, and hosted community conversations. Matt Parsons, a community lawyer at Baltimore Action Legal Team, rejected any strategy built on staying quiet. "Failing to hold the line against fascism and authoritarianism only ensures more harm," he said. "You can't assume putting your head down will prevent confrontation."

Baltimore has not experienced a surge comparable to the one in Minneapolis last winter, where two U.S. citizens were killed by federal agents. But with federal immigration enforcement described as poised to expand further into Baltimore's schools, hospitals, and cultural institutions, the question business owners in Highlandtown are asking is no longer whether this will affect them. For Villegas and her empty parking spot, it already has.