A local city councilwoman is facing calls for investigation and possible criminal charges after police accused her of assaulting officers and inciting a violent crowd during a chaotic immigration enforcement operation last Friday.
Councilwoman Etel Haxhiaj, who represents District 5 in Worcester, Massachusetts, allegedly interfered with a Department of Homeland Security operation to apprehend an illegal immigrant with a violent criminal history. The suspect, Ferreira de Oliveira, was previously arrested for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault and battery on a pregnant woman, according to federal authorities.
The confrontation quickly escalated when more than two dozen bystanders mobilized, some shouting “no warrant!” and “not the mother!” as ICE officers attempted to detain the suspect. While some described the crowd as concerned neighbors, others speculated that anti-deportation activists may have received a tip and organized in advance of the arrest.
Haxhiaj was captured on video in a powder-blue shirt physically clashing with officers, an action the Worcester Police Patrolman’s Union said went beyond obstruction.
“Etel Haxhiaj incited aggression towards the police during the incident,” the union wrote in a public statement released Saturday. “This councilor participated in the conduct of the unruly crowd and eventually assaulted both Worcester police and federal law enforcement officers on scene. Her behavior also emboldened others to act in this manner.”
Additional footage posted online showed Haxhiaj defending her actions to law enforcement on the scene, appearing to justify her actions and the crowd’s aggression.
Two other individuals were arrested during the altercation:
- De Oliveira’s daughter, who attempted to block the ICE vehicle while holding her infant and later kicked the car’s passenger side, was charged with reckless endangerment of a child, disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest. The child was unharmed.
- Ashley Spring, a school board candidate, was taken into custody for allegedly throwing an unknown liquid at officers.
The confrontation is the latest in a string of high-profile incidents involving local officials interfering with immigration enforcement, as President Donald Trump’s administration intensifies efforts to deport illegal aliens with criminal records. It also raises legal and political questions about the limits of local government resistance to federal law enforcement operations.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested at the Delaney Hall ICE detention facility in New Jersey during a confrontation involving members of Congress and demonstrators. The two incidents, though separate, underscore a growing wave of local and state officials defying federal immigration authorities.
Baraka, a Democratic candidate for governor and longtime critic of the private detention industry, has been an outspoken opponent of Delaney Hall, a newly reopened ICE facility operated by GEO Group under a $1 billion federal contract. His arrest sparked backlash from prominent Democrats, with Governor Phil Murphy and Senator Cory Booker calling the incident politically motivated and unjust. Meanwhile, ICE and DHS defended the arrest, claiming Baraka and others attempted to breach facility security.
Yes, it would appear that Baraka’s actions were “politically motivated and unjust”.