Video: Dozens of Neighbors Confront ICE Agents During Arrest Attempt

Worcester City Manager Eric Batista and Police Chief Paul Saucier released bodycam footage of the uproar that broke out around U.S. Immigration and Customs (ICE) agents who recently arrested a Brazilian national in the Massachusetts town.

Newsweek reached out to ICE by email outside of normal business hours for comment on Saturday afternoon.

Why It Matters

President Donald Trump has initiated a nationwide deportation as part of his administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration, which had much public backing when he took office in January, according to polling at the time.

Critics have raised concerns about due process, racial profiling, and the detention of individuals with long-standing ties to their communities as a result of the raids.

Worcester has been the focus of a few ICE-related disputes in the past month as well, with ICE detaining several nonviolent immigrants without legal status and drawing backlash from the community.

Residents gather on Mother’s Day to hold a rally to protest against ICE officers who arrested Ferreira de Oliveira, a Brazilian resident, on May 11 in downtown Worcester, Massachusetts.

Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images

What To Know

ICE agents arrested Brazilian national Rosane Ferreira De Oliveira, 40, on May 8 and charged her with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon against a pregnant victim. Police said that Ferreira De Oliveira in February used a phone cord in an assault on her 16-year-old daughter, according to Boston-based station WBUR.

An ICE spokesman told WBUR Ferreira De Oliveira, a native of Brazil, was taken into custody because she is in the country illegally, and that the state criminal charges are a separate matter.

While initial proceedings took place on her case, Ferreira De Oliveira remained in ICE detention at the Wyatt Detention Facility in Rhode Island.

The arrest, however, caused deep distress within the community, as several people tried to intervene, with many begging the local police not to assist ICE in arresting Ferreira De Oliveira.

In response, Batista and Saucier released three videos that total around one hour of footage of body camera footage from Worcester police who arrived amid the chaos as people tried to help push back against ICE agents.

“The footage of a family being torn apart is disturbing to watch but the municipality cannot interfere in or prevent a federal detainment,” Batista said in a statement. “As a community, we must come together in support of one another and not allow external forces to divide us.”

Police did intervene as Ferreira De Oliveira’s daughter tried to chase down the vehicle that took her mother away, crying and screaming hysterically as police tried to subdue her. She was then arrested, but Saucier has requested the court to dismiss the case. He stressed, however, that interference during the execution of official duties “is never acceptable.”

According to WBUR, 911 calls described over two dozen people surrounding ICE agents. In another snippet, someone demanded that Saucier arrive at the scene to intervene.

Batista on Friday also issued an executive order that will prohibit local police from participating in enforcing immigration laws, except in the case of officer safety.

What People Are Saying

Worcester Police Chief Paul Saucier in a Saturday email to Newsweek said: “To ensure transparency and provide a clearer perspective of the incident, we are releasing the dispatch calls and body-worn camera footage. By doing so, we aim to illustrate the chaotic nature of the situation as experienced by the officers who had to make rapid, critical decisions in the moment to ensure the safety of everyone on the scene.”

He added: “Given the totality of circumstances, the Worcester Police Department is requesting that the Court dismiss the case against the juvenile that was arrested during the incident, but it is important to emphasize that assaulting or interfering with law enforcement officers as they carry out their duties is never acceptable. The Worcester Police Department remains committed to fulfilling our responsibilities of protecting all residents of the City of Worcester.”

City Manager Eric Batista in a statement to News 10 Boston said: “I recognize the significant impact this incident has had on our community. It has created division and caused trauma to the individuals directly involved and to the greater community at large. It is my hope that releasing all of the body-worn camera footage and establishing a clear policy on how municipal employees are to engage with ICE agents is the first step in repairing any unintentional harm and can help determine how, as a community and a municipality, we respond in these situations.”

He continued: “I want to be undeniably clear that our Police Department will never target individuals based on their immigration status. The body-worn camera footage from the first responding officer will show that the target of ICE’s operation was already detained by federal agents prior to WPD’s arrival and that WPD did not assist ICE with the civil arrest. The footage of a family being torn apart is disturbing to watch but the municipality cannot interfere in or prevent a federal detainment. As a community, we must come together in support of one another and not allow external forces to divide us. Worcester has always and will always be a welcoming and inclusive city.”