​Homeowner Faces Felony Investigation After Calling ICE on Roofers

​CAMBRIDGE, MD – A local roofing project turned into a federal scene of chaos this week as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents detained six Guatemalan workers while they were still positioned on a residential roof. The incident, captured on a 30-minute livestream that has since gone viral, has sparked a firestorm of outrage and potential criminal consequences for the homeowner involved.

​The six men were reportedly in the final hours of a three-day job when agents surrounded the property. According to Bryan Polanco, a coworker who filmed the arrest, the homeowner not only placed the call to federal authorities but actively assisted by providing the ladder agents used to reach the men on the roof.

​”She called the damn law on us and now we’re totally screwed!” the workers shouted in Spanish as they were handcuffed. Polanco, who filmed the ordeal, turned the camera toward the homeowner at the end of the footage, describing her as “still with hatred in her heart” while she continued tidying her property.

​The $10,000 Question

​While the homeowner reportedly warned the crew against bringing undocumented workers to her property at the start of the week, Polanco told Univision that she allowed the work to proceed for three days. It was only when the $10,000 project was nearing completion—and the bill became due—that the call to ICE was made.

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​The workers’ tools, valued in the thousands of dollars, were reportedly left in an open van on the street as the men were taken into custody. Among the detained is a father whose wife is currently five months pregnant. “My husband came here to build a better life, not to cause trouble,” she told local reporters through tears.

​Potential Felony Charges

​The homeowner’s “warning” may not protect her from the reach of the law. Under Maryland Criminal Law § 3-701, it is a felony to obtain labor or services by threatening to notify law enforcement of a person’s undocumented status.

​Because the value of the roofing work is estimated at $10,000, the act qualifies as a high-level felony. Legal experts suggest that if investigators find she intentionally utilized the workers’ labor with the plan to report them to avoid payment, she could face up to 15 years in prison and significant fines.

​As of Friday morning, local authorities have not released the homeowner’s name, citing an ongoing investigation into the allegations of labor exploitation. Meanwhile, community members have organized a fund to assist the families of the detained men, as the viral video continues to amass millions of views under the rallying cry: “Justice for the Six.”