ICE strikes again. This time, the infamous agency targeted a Maryland woman. On March 31, what began as a typical day for Elsy Noemi Berrios quickly turned into a frightening ordeal when a group of ICE agents cornered her while she was driving. Two officers attempted to force her out of the vehicle, one of them wearing a black face mask. Elsy refused to comply and demanded to see a warrant. The agents failed to present one. After a tense exchange, they shattered the driver’s side window.
Elsy was not alone. Her daughter, Karen Cruz Berrios, was in the car and recorded the incident on her phone. Both mother and daughter tried to speak with the agents, but the officers seemed impatient to make the arrest.
This was not their first encounter with ICE. The agents had previously attempted to enter their home twice, but Elsy refused to let them in without a warrant. That refusal appears to have led to this forceful confrontation outside.
After leaving El Salvador, the Maryland woman entered the United States in search of asylum. Unfortunately, ICE had a different agenda, and she is now being held at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania.
A week after the incident, her daughter agreed to an interview and shared her experience. She said she was shocked and frightened. She had never expected the agents to go to such extremes, especially since her mother had done nothing wrong.
ICE claimed that Elsy’s arrest was due to her alleged connection to the violent gang MS-13 in El Salvador. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated that American citizens should now feel safer with Elsy jailed and off the streets. She also criticized the media, accusing them of siding with “criminals” who terrorize Americans while ignoring the real victims.
The Maryland woman is not the first to be arrested by ICE over alleged connections to criminal gangs. Many people remain deeply critical of ICE’s ruthless and lawless tactics. “Behold, the new American Gestapo. All they need is a vague accusation of gang affiliation and zero proof to back it up. They’re snatching the brown people up right now. How long do you think it’ll take before they snatch you up too?” one Redditor commented.
Others criticized the mental gymnastics ICE agents performed when arresting the Maryland woman in her car. “So what exactly is the rule here, and the reasoning? ICE can’t break down your door or smash your house window, but they can break your car window and grab you? Please, how does this rationale work?” another user questioned.
