‘ICE Kidnapping’ Signs Are Popping Up Around D.C. —And the White House Is Freaking Out
Washington, D.C. residents say they’ve seen enough — and they’re taking matters into their own hands.
A new grassroots movement is sweeping the capital, marking locations where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have allegedly detained undocumented people. The signs, posted on telephone poles and fences, are direct and defiant: “ICE ABDUCTED SOMEONE HERE,” followed by a date, time, and a plea for others to share what they’ve witnessed.
The message is impossible to miss — and it’s sparked a fierce national backlash. The Trump White House has condemned the campaign, calling it “dangerous” and “deceptive.” Presidential spokesperson Abigail Jackson blasted the signs in an email to The Washington Post, calling them “untrue smears” and insisting that “ICE does not ‘kidnap’ anyone.”
But that hasn’t stopped residents from putting up more. Barbara McCann, one of the campaign’s organizers, said the movement was born from firsthand experience, not political spin. “They are targeting people who can’t defend themselves — the homeless, the undocumented,” McCann said. “When there’s been great injustice, moral clarity takes a long time.”
She described watching ICE agents detain two men from a car near her home — a moment she said “shook” her and inspired her to act. Now, she’s one of dozens across the city documenting ICE activity in real time.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, sharply rejected the claims. “ICE is not ‘kidnapping’ illegal aliens,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “These smears have led to a 1,000% increase in assaults against our officers — including terrorist threats, vehicle attacks, and bounties on their heads.”
ICE officials stress that arrests are conducted under legal authority and are not secret operations. But for residents leading the signage campaign, the legality isn’t the issue — it’s the targeting.
Critics say ICE disproportionately detains the most vulnerable: those without stable housing, legal aid, or family connections. Many are taken into custody without notice, vanishing into detention centers with little public accountability.
For activists, that’s exactly why the term “abduction” fits. “To the government, it’s inflammatory,” one organizer said. “To us, it’s just the truth.”
It’s unclear whether the campaign is a coordinated effort or an organic uprising, but it’s spreading fast — and striking a nerve in Washington. Signs continue to appear across neighborhoods, from Columbia Heights to Capitol Hill, as residents document what they see and share it online.
For McCann, the goal isn’t chaos — it’s awareness. “When there’s great injustice, moral clarity takes a long time,” she repeated. “But it always comes.” Until then, she says, the signs are staying up.