Federal officials say 10 people were arrested by immigration officials in the Annapolis area last week.

Local officials, including Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman, said last week that at least seven people were arrested during “unprecedented levels” of Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity near the state capital.

Annapolis Mayor Jared Littmann said city officials believed that four people from Annapolis were among those arrested. In an emailed statement, an ICE spokesperson said 10 people were arrested “near” the capital city on Jan. 13.

ICE officials have not shared any identifying information about the 10 people, such as names, countries of origin, where they’re being held or specific criminal charges. The agency did not respond to follow-up questions.

A spokesperson for the agency said the arrestees were “in violation of U.S. immigration law” and committed other crimes, including drug possession and assault.

A spokesperson for the Annapolis Police Department said it was not involved in the ICE activity last week and therefore did not have information about those arrested. The county executive’s office also did not have information about the arrestees, a spokesperson said.

Anne Arundel police and Littmann’s office did not immediately respond to The Banner’s inquiry.

The context

Pittmann, who is also chair of the Maryland Democratic Party, said last week that residents in Anne Arundel County “watched terrified as armed masked men in unmarked vehicles detained people.”

The arrests came just a day before the start of the Maryland General Assembly session in Annapolis. State lawmakers are looking at laws affecting immigration enforcement in the state during their 90-day sprint, including a prohibition on face coverings.

They are also considering a bill that would prohibit local public safety agencies from creating enforcement agreements with ICE.

Speaking at a Banner event Tuesday, state Senate President Bill Ferguson and House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk said immigration bills would be among their top priorities.

Gov. Wes Moore’s office has not responded to multiple requests for comment about last week’s arrests.

The questions surrounding the arrests in and around Maryland’s capital follow an ICE-related shooting in Glen Burnie on Christmas Eve.

In that instance, federal officials initially said two men were in a vehicle that rammed an ICE vehicle and tried to run agents over. ICE agents shot and wounded the driver. After local officials disputed ICE’s account, federal officials revised their story and said that one of the men was in ICE custody at the time of the shooting.

Federal prosecutors charged the man who was shot, Tiago Alexandre Sousa-Martins, a Portuguese immigrant who overstayed his visa, with resisting arrest.