What is happening in Hyattsville right now is horrifying. Neighbors are being ripped from their families during botched U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids with guns drawn and children watching. A mother was taken during an asylum hearing, leaving behind a 1-year-old and a 4-year-old. Families are terrified to leave their homes, even to go grocery shopping. Kids are simply no longer going to school because the risk is too great.

The consequences are real, and they are devastating. Families left behind when a breadwinner is taken often have nothing: no income, no food, no plan. In November 2025, I founded Route 1 (Rt 1) Mutual Aid because I simply couldn’t sit around any longer. Since our founding, we’ve specifically been addressing the growing food insecurity crisis within our immigrant community by collecting grocery donations from neighbors and delivering them directly to families in need through partnerships with local organizations. We do this not because we are righteous or independently wealthy, but because our city and county governments weren’t doing anything for the immigrant community. We saw the urgency and we showed up.

But as the weeks go on, more and more families are impacted and our scrappy grassroots operation is struggling to keep up. As Rt 1 Mutual Aid has already seen, this crisis continues to get worse for our neighbors. According to estimates from local organizations, Hyattsville has already lost nearly 30 residents to detentions over the past year, and this trend is poised to accelerate. Federal agencies are stockpiling supplies in Baltimore and ICE is expanding its footprint right here in Hyattsville at 6505 Belcrest Road. Our town is uniquely vulnerable for what’s to come: More than 37% of our residents are foreign born, according to 2024 census data.

While we cannot single-handedly stop federal detentions, we can — and must — support the families left in the wake of these tragedies. Governments at the local and state levels have the power and responsibility to do something about this growing crisis.

Currently, the Hyattsville City Council is debating the creation of a $100,000 emergency fund for impacted families. This money would provide a lifeline for basic needs: keeping the lights on, putting food on the table, and covering the exorbitant legal fees required to bring parents and spouses home from dangerous detention facilities. To ensure efficiency and transparency, the fund would be managed by a trusted local nonprofit.

Despite the modest size of this request — representing less than one quarter of 1% of last year’s budget — the city council is shockingly divided. We have heard a litany of excuses: that the fund isn’t large enough to “solve” the whole problem, that families should rely on GoFundMe campaigns or grassroots initiative like Rt 1 Mutual Aid, or even the false, xenophobic claim that many of those detained may be “serious offenders” who don’t deserve our help.

Some councilmembers are hiding behind administrative red tape, claiming we cannot approve the fund until every minor logistical detail is finalized. This is a stall tactic. We already have a proven blueprint: Hyattsville made available over $1 million in COVID-19 relief through similar grants, working alongside experienced organizations like We Are CASA.

Our city staff and local partners are more than capable of handling the finer points of grant administration. We do not need our elected officials to micromanage logistics; we need them to provide the political will to act.

To put this $100,000 request in perspective: It is only one-seventh of what Hyattsville spends on parking enforcement every year. And yet, we are short of the votes needed to pass this. There is no other motion on the table to support our immigrant neighbors. If this fund fails, our city council will have chosen to do nothing in the face of a community-wide emergency. We cannot allow our representatives to abandon our neighbors when they are most vulnerable.

If you have felt helpless watching these tragedies unfold, this is your moment to act. We must show the council that we expect them to represent the values of the community that elected them.

  • Email your councilmember today: Tell them why this fund matters to you. You can find them at hyattsville.org/834/Mayor-Council.
  • Request a meeting: A phone call or a brief meeting carries significant weight.
  • Speak up: Attend the next city council meeting. Public comment happens at the very beginning of the meeting (currently virtual), and you only need two minutes to make your voice heard.
  • Support Rt 1 Mutual Aid by donating or volunteering. rt1mutualaid.org 

Stand up for your neighbors. Let’s ensure Hyattsville remains the compassionate, diverse and supportive home we all love.

Stephanie DeLorenzo is a resident of Hyattsville and co-founder of Route 1 Mutual Aid.

The opinions expressed in From Where I Stand pieces are those of the author. We reserve the right to edit for brevity and clarity.