Protesters rally in Baltimore over ICE holding room conditions, detentions

Protesters gathered outside the George H. Fallon Federal Building on Friday, pressing for answers about women they say were swept into ICE’s Baltimore holding rooms after routine check-ins and kept under conditions that violated basic rights. Organizers said about 40 women were detained over a two-day span in March, many with no criminal histories and, they said, while following the legal process to become permanent residents.

Advocates said nearly half of those women were later deported, while others were traced to facilities in Washington and Arizona. They said the women had already been transferred before members of Maryland’s congressional delegation visited the Baltimore site on March 9. Protesters also accused ICE of denying the women water, toilets and menstrual products while they were held inside the federal building at 31 Hopkins Plaza.

The pressure on federal officials intensified after Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown filed a lawsuit on March 10 seeking ICE and Department of Homeland Security records tied to the Baltimore hold rooms. Brown’s office said it had been monitoring the cells since summer 2025 and opened a formal investigation in late January after reviewing viral video, detainee declarations and reports that members of Congress had visited the site. The inquiry is focused on possible overcrowding, detention beyond legal limits, denial of medical care, denial of food and water, unsanitary conditions and blocked access to legal counsel.

The Baltimore dispute is not new. In May 2025, two undocumented women sued over conditions they described as inhumane inside the same holding rooms. Their lawyers said one woman was held for more than 60 hours and the other for about 48 hours after routine immigration check-ins. A federal judge, Julie R. Rubin, temporarily blocked their deportations while the case moved forward. Advocates in that lawsuit said ICE policy limits confinement in hold rooms to 12 hours.

Friday’s rally drew People’s Power Assembly, International League of People’s Struggle Baltimore DMV, International Migrants Alliance, International Women’s Alliance and Defend Migrants Alliance. Gov. Wes Moore backed Brown’s effort and said the allegations warranted full cooperation and accountability, adding to the scrutiny surrounding how ICE is using one of Baltimore’s most visible federal buildings.