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In Worcester, Massachusetts, a group of over two dozen community members quickly gathered last Thursday upon hearing that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, along with other federal officers, were conducting operations in a residential area. Their objective was to prevent the apprehension of a woman who was being separated from her teenage daughter and young grandchild. The locals faced resistance not only from the federal agents but also from the city police.<\/p>\n
According to reports, ICE agents positioned themselves outside a residence on Eureka Street, targeting a Brazilian woman. They intercepted her, her 16-year-old daughter, the daughter\u2019s infant, and another relative as they were about to enter a vehicle.<\/p>\n
Bill Shaner, a local independent journalist, described the event in an article for Welcome to Hell World<\/em>. He recounted arriving at the scene with a video camera after hearing over the police scanner that ICE agents felt “surrounded”. He witnessed and recorded distressing scenes:<\/p>\n \nI parked at the periphery of the incident, and the air was filled with piercing, desperate cries\u2014a mother, her daughter, and another woman clutching the baby. The chaos was overwhelming.<\/p>\n \nThen I saw the young woman in a green shirt, sobbing uncontrollably. She was flanked by imposing men clad in tactical gear, their faces obscured by black neck warmers, a current trend among our shadowy law enforcement squads.<\/p>\n \nEncircling them were dozens of community members who had been alerted to the ICE operation and arrived before the police.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The surrounding community members demanded the agents show a warrant for the woman\u2019s arrest, but their requests were disregarded. They formed a human chain to block the agents from taking the woman to an unmarked van, but the agents eventually broke through.<\/p>\n Shaner noted an escalation when the woman’s daughter attempted to prevent the arrest by jumping on the hood of the car. Worcester Police intervened, pulling her off as onlookers pleaded, “Don’t take the mother!” The teen managed to break free momentarily and ran, but was soon tackled and detained by police, screaming as she was subdued and charged with reckless endangerment of a child, disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest.<\/p>\n \nWATCH: @WorcesterPD<\/a> arrest woman attempting to stop @ICEgov<\/a> from driving off with detained suspect. Police arrived after a group of more than two dozen swarmed the federal agents. 2nd woman arrested, more charges possible. https:\/\/t.co\/TwA5UqZMil@7News<\/a> #Immigration https:\/\/t.co\/z8y1InFFub<\/p>\n \u2014 Stephen Quinn (@stephenquinntv) May 9, 2025\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n As the situation intensified, neighbors tried to reason with local police officers who consistently responded, “This is ICE. This is federal.” Despite assertions from community members that the agents were conducting a “kidnapping” without a warrant, the police reiterated that no warrant was necessary.<\/p>\n Etel Haxhiaj, a city councilor present at the scene, labeled the agents “cowards” as they escorted the mother towards the vehicle, asserting, “This is an innocent woman.” Following the arrests, Haxhiaj expressed her duty to defend her constituents and criticized the federal government’s targeting and terrorizing of immigrants in Worcester and statewide as “absolutely unconstitutional.”<\/p>\n After the incident, Haxhiaj spoke to a Worcester police officer, criticizing the aggressive tactic used on the teenager, suggesting a more humane approach could have been employed.<\/p>\n Shaner highlighted a statement from January by Worcester Police Chief Paul Saucier, who assured city councilors post-President Trump’s inauguration that local police would not engage in ICE operations. However, Shaner pointed out that local police still intervene to prevent public interference with ICE actions.<\/p>\n Additionally, a school board candidate, Ashley Spring, was arrested for allegedly throwing a liquid substance at officers, facing multiple charges including assault and battery on a police officer.<\/p>\n Matt Szafranski, editor-in-chief of Western Mass Politics and Insight<\/em>, commented on the increasing public resistance, suggesting that ICE was unprepared for such community pushback and predicting that civil disobedience would likely escalate.<\/p>\n “The Worcester Police Department owes the community an explanation, but local officers are finding themselves in difficult positions as ICE continues these operations,” Szafranski concluded.<\/p>\n