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Immigrant-rights groups urge more funding for legal services as ICE enforcement rises
Summary
Speakers representing immigrant communities described fear of enforcement and urged city funding for legal services and inclusive summer programming; Amica Center for Immigrant Rights described a recent client case in which legal aid secured a bond and prevented deportation.
Advocates and service providers told the Board of Estimates that rising federal enforcement is creating fear among immigrant families in Baltimore and urged city funding for legal services and inclusive programming for students ineligible for YouthWorks.
Lucia Islas, representing Baltimore’s Latinx community, said immigrants are increasingly afraid to participate in community life because of aggressive federal enforcement and asked for continued support and resources for immigrant well-being.
Chrisley De Los Santos, director of Casa for Baltimore, urged the Board to include funding for services that support immigrant families to remain together and asked for more support for summer programming that reaches undocumented students who are ineligible for YouthWorks.
Emma Isñaga, managing paralegal at the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, described a case she said the Amica Center recently handled: a long-term Baltimore resident identified as “Mister A” who fled violence in Guatemala, was detained in an ICE raid in February 2024 despite no criminal record, and whose partner gave birth while he was detained. Amica Center secured bond and work on his case; Isñaga said the result — bond and imminent reunification — was possible because of legal representation and argued the city should earmark funding for immigration defense services.
Witnesses asked the Board to fund community-defense hotlines, legal representation and inclusive youth program slots, and to treat immigrant legal services as a budget priority amid increased federal enforcement activity.
