Federal Agents Defy Human Chain with Worcester Police Help to Take Mother and Daughter

The day after a father in Worcester, Massachusetts, was taken by federal agents, around 7:00 agents intercepted the family’s mother, 16 year old daughter and one year old baby as they were about to get into a vehicle outside their home on Eureka Street, and about 25 neighbors rushed to intervene, unsuccessfully.

The encounter was video recorded and went viral on social media, thoroughly harrowing. The family are reportedly of Brazilian origin. Reporters did not know their immigration status.

The mother Rosane Ferreira-De Oliveira clung to her infant as locals attempted to protect her inside a human chain and agents strove to arrest her. In video, one local can be heard demanding that agents show their identification and warrant. An agent responded, “We don’t have to show you anything,” which was not true.

One participant in the effort to protect the mother said she was waiting for her lawyer to arrive.

At 11:13, Worcester police responded to a call for help. State law generally prohibits local police from assisting federal immigration officers and the Mayor has in the past pledged that city police would not help detain immigrants. Instead of helping the neighborhood residents, police helped the federal agents.

Officers breached the protective human shield around the mother, who gave her baby to her daughter before federal agents handcuffed her to take her away. The daughter, who screamed frantically throughout most of the videos posted online, chased the car taking her mother away and at one point stood in front of it with the baby to block its departure.

She then handed the baby to a neighbor and kicked the passenger side of the car as it drove past. Local police chased her down and clustered around her, pushing her to the ground, pressing her face to the street and keeping her there while handcuffing and arresting her. She was charged with reckless endangerment of a child, disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

Worcester School Committee candidate Ashley Spring was also arrested, charged with assault and battery for pushing a police officer (who shoved her back harder), assault and battery with a dangerous weapon for throwing an “unknown liquid” at police, disorderly conduct and interfering with a police officer.

Two police unions, New England Police Benevolent Association Local 911 and International Brotherhood of Police Officers Local 504, released statements later accusing City Councilor Etel Haxhiaj of District 5 of “physically interfering and physically assaulting” Worcester police officers. Local 504 also said she interfered with federal investigators. The Local 504 also accused the councilor of interfering with a federal investigation.

Video captured by MassLive shows Haxhiaj speaking to Worcester police officers, criticizing their behavior. Nineteen seconds into the video, she is surrounded by and appears to be arguing with police. An officer shoves Haxhiaj out of the way. Two seconds later, she appears to touch an officer. She did not hit him. It appeared to be a benign contact incidental to trying to step back into the cluster of officers to continue arguing.

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