Supporters of the 46 people arrested Monday in Anne Arundel on illegal immigration charges lashed out at the so-called “terrorist action” taken and immigration policies at a rally Tuesday.

“We want the government to reform the system and quickly because the situation is becoming unbearable,” said the Rev. Luis Cremis, of Our Lady of Pompei Church in Highlandtown, in front of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office at Hopkins Plaza in Baltimore.

“They only scare people with these raids,” Cremis said. “They are terrorizing the neediest and poorest members of society.”

ICE officials arrested 36 men and 10 women Monday — some of whom worked for Annapolis Painting Services — in Anne Arundel, where County Executive John R. Leopold has taken a hard stance against illegal immigration.

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About 100 people attended the rally, and some carried signs critical of him, such as “John Leopold, we are not criminals,” “painting is not a crime” and those asking Leopold to “cease celebrating the division of families.”

“Illegal means illegal,” Leopold said.

Anne Arundel Police Chief James Teare Sr. said the arrests would serve as a strong deterrent to other businesses that hiring illegal immigrants will not be tolerated.

Many relatives of those arrested were afraid to attend the rally, according to CASA de Maryland, a Silver Spring-based pro-immigration group.

Several of the 46 are expected to be deported to their native lands, including Mexico and Central America.

“For too long, Congress has merely fiddled while the immigration system is burning,” said Jonathan Greene, liaison for the Washington, D.C., chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, a nonprofit that supports pro-immigration initiatives.

The country needs a immigration policy to provide sufficient visas to meet demands, he said. Under the law, 5,000 annual permanent visas are allowed for low-skill, “essential” workers when demand is about a million.

“These are just victims of the broken immigration system,” said Liza Zamd, a CASA lawyer. “... It is breaking families apart.”

jkowalkowski@baltimorexaminer.com