FREDERICK– One early morning in March, César Díaz’s phone started buzzing as dozens of calls and messages poured in from friends and neighbors. As president of the Frederick City Council and an active member in the community, he said they turned to him for help.
That morning, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had shown up in a predominantly Latino and immigrant neighborhood. As parents and children walked to Hillcrest Elementary School, just feet away, agents had arrested an adult.
“These kids who have been living in fear for over a year at that point are seeing this happen and they start being understandably scared, and so do their parents,” Díaz said. “There’s been this fear in the community of ICE using school drop off or pick up times to apprehend parents.”
Díaz said he called city officials to get information from local police and mobilized efforts to provide support to community members affected by the incident.
Díaz said his constant presence and involvement in his community has made him a point of contact for many of his neighbors. As the first Latino city council president in Frederick, he said ensuring the safety of his neighbors is one of his priorities.
Nestled about 50 miles northwest of Washington, the City of Frederick has transformed into a bustling tourist attraction, the population – and its immigrant population – has grown in the past decade. The growth, Díaz said, has made it a target for ICE activity since the Trump administration returned to office last year.
“They come in pretty regularly. It’s just not obvious,” said Díaz. “It was a horrible incident, but it was an incident that happens a couple times a week in Frederick.”
Nearly 30 years ago, Díaz moved from Puerto Rico to Frederick where he lives with his partner and two sons. The former Maryland park ranger and information technology and cyber security expert represents District 2, a predominantly Latino immigrant neighborhood.
“These are the people who are my neighbors, who I see every day walking down the street, going to the store, going to businesses,” said Díaz. “I feel a connection in that sense as well, culturally because of where I’m from.”
Díaz is very immersed in the community, said Suzanne Salichs, executive director for Centro Hispano de Frederick, a nonprofit organization that supports the Hispanic community. She said she often sees him listening to constituents, sitting in coffee shops and attending community events.
Díaz began volunteering at Centro Hispano de Frederick two years ago, using his background in information technology to teach a weekly computer class for young adults.
“He clearly understands firsthand and sees every day what communities and residents experience and what they need,” Salichs said.
She pointed to his passion to address neighbors’ concerns.
Earlier this month, the council unanimously passed the City Values Act, which would require federal immigration agents to provide a judicial warrant to enforce immigration policies at city-owned properties.
“This is a beacon of hope for people, for immigrant neighbors and friends,” said Salichs. “We’ll also continue to build trust with these individuals, trust between government and people and those individuals being our overburdened and vulnerable neighbors.”
The ordinance comes months after Gov. Wes Moore (D) signed a bill banning cooperation agreements between Maryland sheriffs and ICE, known as 287(g) agreements.
Díaz had been advocating for the ban since the last session, but said he wanted to take it a step further noting that the city is in a county where the sheriff disagrees with him on immigration policy.
“There’s still a lot of fear in the community. That’s why I felt this was important to show that in the places where we can make a difference, we can make a difference,” said Díaz. “We can’t stop ICE. We just can’t at the city level. We as a state came together and banned 287(g), but we still can’t stop the sheriff or whatever he decides to do.”
Some sheriffs, including Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins, opposed the ban arguing it could make the state a target for ICE street arrests.
Jenkins spearheaded the 287(g) program in Maryland, upholding the agreement with ICE for 13 years before the ban in February. He also opposed the City Values Act in Frederick.
“I don’t think it will change anything, I think it’s just a position statement that the city wants to basically stand on,” Jenkins said. “ICE is going to come to Frederick and ICE is going to make the apprehensions wherever they are and there’s nothing he can do to stop it.”
Díaz said his constituents are on his mind when making decisions.
“We’re all part of the city, so the decisions that we make affect everyone,’’ he said. “But each one of us represents a district and really focuses on what our actions mean for those people that we represent first.”
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