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ICE agents smashed car window to forcibly remove Salisbury, Maryland mother after school drop-off

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested 24-year-old Vanessa Parrazal in Salisbury, Maryland on December 17, 2025, minutes after she dropped her daughter off at Pinehurst Elementary School. When Parrazal did not exit her vehicle, agents smashed the driver's-side window and forcibly removed her, an encounter witnesses captured on video and neighbors described as traumatizing. ICE said Parrazal resisted arrest and was extracted for officer safety, while Wicomico County Sheriff Mike Lewis said the agency had lawful authority to make the arrest.

Jurisdiction
Federal
Location
Salisbury, Maryland

Abuses documented

Actors

On the morning of December 17, 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested 24-year-old Vanessa Parrazal in Salisbury, Maryland, minutes after she and a friend dropped children off at Pinehurst Elementary School. Video filmed by a witness shows agents surrounding Parrazal's car; when she did not exit, agents struck and smashed the driver's-side window, reached inside to unlock the door, and forcibly removed her. ICE said agents identified Parrazal during a "targeted immigration enforcement operation" as she entered her vehicle, and that she "refused to comply with lawful orders" and "actively resisted arrest," so officers "legally extracted" her from the car "for the safety of the officers and the community." Parrazal's sister-in-law, relaying witness accounts, said seven agents "dragged her out of the car and broke the windows" while Parrazal was "screaming and crying" but "compliant the whole time"; several witnesses and video of the arrest corroborated that account.

Neighbors who watched the arrest described it as shocking and traumatizing. Wicomico County Sheriff Mike Lewis said he "cringed" on hearing the details of the arrest and confirmed Parrazal "does have a criminal record," but said ICE officers "are legal and lawful in doing what they're doing" -- a statement addressing ICE's authority to make the arrest, not the force used to carry it out. Parrazal was charged with second-degree assault in 2020, when she was 18; the charge was later reduced to a misdemeanor and she pleaded guilty, and friends and neighbors said the case stemmed from self-defense against an abusive partner. She is married to a U.S. citizen and, through her attorneys, had already begun pursuing a marriage-based path to legal status before her arrest.

Updates

2025-12-21 — ICE transferred Parrazal to a Louisiana detention facility [2]

Four days after the arrest, ICE transferred Parrazal from Maryland to the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile, Louisiana, a move her attorneys said delayed a scheduled hearing at which they had planned to seek her release on bond. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore's office said it was in contact with Parrazal's family, and U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen's office called the arrest tactics "absolutely unacceptable."

2026-01-09 — Immigration judge denied Parrazal bond [4]

An immigration judge denied bond for Parrazal, keeping her in ICE custody in Louisiana as her case proceeded.

2026-01-12 — Judge delayed Parrazal's deportation decision [5]

An immigration judge delayed issuing a decision in Parrazal's deportation case.

2026-04-24 — Parrazal's final hearing rescheduled to May 5 for a ruling on her relief application [6]

As of April 23, 2026, Parrazal remained in ICE custody in Louisiana, according to her attorney, Marlena Konopka. Her final immigration hearing, where the judge would hear her remaining testimony and rule on her application for relief, was rescheduled to May 5, 2026.

Why we recorded this

Accountable use of force requires that government enforcement be no more forceful than a situation actually requires, even when the underlying authority to act is lawful. ICE agents broke Vanessa Parrazal's car window and physically extracted her from the vehicle to arrest her outside her child's elementary school; the county sheriff, while confirming ICE's legal authority to make the arrest, said he "cringed" at the tactics used. This archive records the incident because a lawful arrest does not by itself justify disproportionate force, and the proportionality of the tactic -- not the legality of the arrest -- is the question the sheriff's comment left unanswered.

Sources

  1. Arrest of 24-year-old Salisbury mother at the hands of ICE sparks outrage — WBOC primary accessed September 7, 2026
  2. ICE moves Maryland mother out of state, as attorneys try to get hearing set — Baltimore Sun primary accessed September 7, 2026
  3. Maryland woman faces multiple ICE hearings after Salisbury arrest — Baltimore Sun secondary accessed September 7, 2026
  4. ICE judge denies bond for Salisbury mother detained after school drop-off — Baltimore Sun secondary accessed September 7, 2026
  5. ICE delays deportation decision for Salisbury mother — Baltimore Sun secondary accessed September 7, 2026
  6. Salisbury's Vanessa Parrazal remains in ICE custody — Salisbury Daily Times primary accessed September 7, 2026

See also