Whistleblower Documents Detail Alleged Abuse at Baltimore ICE Facility as Protests Grow

New allegations of corporal punishment, unsanitary conditions emerge as demonstrators gather outside federal building

A former employee at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Baltimore facility has provided whistleblower documents to WUSA9 alleging severe overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, and mistreatment of detainees at the downtown federal building.

The documents, shared with the news station by the former facility employee, describe detainees held in crowded cells — in some cases more than 50 people — sleeping on floors with limited access to hygiene supplies, clean clothing, or adequate sanitation. The materials also allege corporal punishment, insufficient menstrual supplies for women, and instances of detainees being held for extended periods without proper food or bathing facilities.

ICE has not publicly addressed the specific claims.

The whistleblower allegations are related to a viral video that surfaced last month showing dozens of people lying shoulder to shoulder on the floor of what appeared to be a holding room inside the Fallon Federal Building at 31 Hopkins Plaza. An individual with firsthand knowledge of the site confirmed at the time that the room shown was the temporary detainee holding area at the facility, which houses ICE’s Baltimore field office and an immigration court.

Protests Outside Downtown Federal Building Grow

The allegations have sparked a sustained protest movement outside the Fallon Federal Building, a multi-agency facility that protesters argue is fundamentally unsuited for detention operations.

A Federal Protective Service agent watches protesters outside the Fallon Federal Building at 31 Hopkins Plaza in Baltimore, Md., where daily demonstrations have been held since February 10. Photo by Michael Wriston.

The demonstrations began with marches, prayer vigils, and liturgies over the past two weeks, drawing immigrant rights advocates, faith leaders, and concerned Baltimore residents. On Monday, a coalition of concerned citizens escalated their efforts, launching daily pickets from 7:30 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 5 p.m. on weekdays — strategically timed to coincide with rush hours as federal employees arrive for and depart from work.

The Fallon Building houses numerous federal agencies and support offices, including the Veterans Affairs Regional Office, the Disabled American Veterans office, field offices of the Internal Revenue Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the General Services Administration, the Social Security Administration, and the Department of Labor. La Petite Academy, a childcare center serving children under five, also operates inside the building.

According to organizers’ call to action, this co-location creates a daily confrontation with the detention operations: federal employees must take the same path to their offices that detained individuals are forced down in handcuffs, and both workers and young children enter and exit the building alongside heavily reinforced ICE transport vehicles and Department of Homeland Security patrol cars.

Organizers are inviting the public to join the demonstrations outside the Fallon Building at 31 Hopkins Plaza on Lombard Street during the daily picket times. The protesters are not only demonstrating against the detention conditions described in the whistleblower materials, but are also actively offering support and “pathways to resisting” to federal workers who may be troubled by the activities taking place in their workplace.

This dual approach — combining public protest with outreach to the building’s workforce — represents an organizing model that frames federal employees as potential allies forced to share their workplace with detention operations they may oppose. Organizers express solidarity with workers who, in their words, must carry out their duties while ICE operations occupy their building.

The demonstrations have made the alleged conditions visible to the thousands of federal workers, parents, and downtown residents who pass through or near the building each day. The organizing strategy — escalating from occasional marches to sustained daily presence at peak hours, combined with direct outreach to the building’s workforce — offers a potential template for advocates in other cities where ICE facilities are co-located with other federal offices.