ICE presence reshapes Hyattsville food aid efforts, forcing new ways to reach those in need

Hyattsville church and city programs are adapting how they deliver food and other essentials to struggling families after volunteers and city officials reported fewer residents venturing out for help amid heightened Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity. 

Volunteers and city officials say the presence of ICE has frightened some residents in need from seeking meals, fresh produce and diapers, pushing churches and the City of Hyattsville to adjust outreach methods. The changes come amid increasing ICE activity in Prince George’s County and a federal request this fall for new ICE office space near Hyattsville.

“We started to see a little bit of a decrease after ICE started picking up,” said Cindy Harding,  the director of Helping Hands Feeding Ministry at the First United Methodist Church of Hyattsville. But she added that at one stop where lunches have been delivered, attendance had dropped by about 80%. “So you can tell people are afraid.” 

City officials say they are seeing similar reactions from residents who rely on the municipal assistance programs, prompting the city to adapt. 

“Because of ICE, we have had a lot of families who actually send private messages to us to see if we can actually make deliveries to their homes,” said Sandra Shephard, director of Community Services and Programs for the city. 

Harding joined the United Methodist Church in 1998 and now helps operate the ministry, which provides meals to people experiencing homelessness across Hyattsville. The ministry, now in its fourth year, prepares bag lunches every Tuesday. Each lunch includes a sandwich, bottle of water, fruit, chips and cookies. Volunteers load the meals onto the church’s van and drive to locations where day laborers and others in need typically gather.

The decline in those seeking assistance has been sharp at some stops, Harding said. At a stop on East West Highway, previously the ministry’s first stop, volunteers used to distribute at least 20 lunches. On their most recent visit, they gave away four, Harding said.

“Now those guys are hiding … they’re scared,” said Donnalee Sanderson, the church secretary.

The ministry continues to visit other locations, though turnout has continued to decline.

“People are reluctant to even speak, because they’re not sure who they’re talking to,” Harding said, noting that the church’s pastor accompanies volunteers and tries to engage with recipients, but many remain wary.

The city’s produce distribution program, hosted the third Tuesday of each month at First United Methodist Church, typically serves an average of more than 400 people, said Shephard. The program, open to all community members in need without registration, is run through a contract with Capital Area Food Bank and provides fresh produce as well as protein items, including eggs and meat.

The city now offers both individual appointments and traditional distribution events for programs such as diapers and produce, Shephard said.

The stepped-up ICE activity in Hyattsville is being seen elsewhere in Maryland, published news reports and ICE news releases show.

ICE arrests statewide increased from an average of 3.7 arrests a day in 2024 to 9.8 a day through June of this year, according to a Maryland Matters report. 

In late October, the General Services Administration posted a request for competitive lease proposals for office space within a five-mile radius of Hyattsville’s city limits to support federal law enforcement operations. A GSA spokesperson declined to identify which agency requested the space, saying only that the agency is “proud to support all of our patriotic federal law enforcement partners.”

Prince George’s County recorded several high-profile ICE arrests throughout 2025 involving people with records ranging from traffic violations to violent felonies, according to ICE press releases. In January, ICE officials announced the arrest of a 19-year-old MS-13 gang member in Hyattsville who had pending criminal charges for possessing a loaded handgun and ammunition, the ICE statement said. In April, the agency arrested a man with pending charges that included murder after county corrections released him despite a detainer request, the ICE statement said.

News reports have documented additional enforcement incidents in the area, some impacting  onlookers. In September, ICE officers tackled a man in the intersection of Hamilton Street and Queens Chapel Road; a video published by the Hyattsville Life & Times showed an officer briefly dropping his firearm before pointing it at onlookers. Subsequent Life & Times reporting revealed that the man arrested had made a viral video of another ICE arrest the week prior, and had been arrested for assault with a knife in 2024.

In November, Montgomery County Councilmember Kristin Mink said she was grabbed by an ICE officer while filming officers in the parking lot of Tick Tock Liquors on University Boulevard. ICE later confirmed to Bethesda Magazine the officers in the video were federal immigration officers, prompting questions about bystanders’ rights.

The composition of ICE arrests has tipped since 2024, when 43% of those arrested in Maryland had no criminal convictions. That figure rose to 60% in 2025, according to an analysis by The Baltimore Banner. 

ICE did not reply to email inquiries with comment for publication.

Laura Usher, co-leader of Indivisible Route 1 Corridor, which describes itself as a progressive, grassroots organization, said fear of ICE agents extends beyond those participating in church and city outreach programs. “I do think there are a lot of people who are scared to even — never mind participating in community programs, they’re scared to go to the grocery store, go to school, go to church,” she said.

On Nov. 8, after reports of ICE activity near an apartment building on Hamilton Street that is close to bus stops, the Hyattsville Elementary PTA and others mobilized members to stand at the bus stops and escort children and their families home, said Jamie McGonnigal, the PTA president.

In addition, Usher said her son, a student at Northwestern High School in Hyattsville, told her some of his friends were not allowed to go trick-or-treating at Halloween because their families feared encountering ICE.

“Which is really tragic,” Usher said. “Kids should be allowed to be kids.”

Ryan Ross and Zaka Hossein are graduate journalism students at the University of Maryland.

This article has been corrected. A prior version said the church distributed meals from an unmarked van. The van has the church’s name and phone number on it.