WORCESTER—A volatile scene unfolded on Eureka Street late Thursday morning when Worcester police officers responded to reports of federal agents surrounded by a crowd, culminating in multiple arrests and a flood of reactions across social media.
According to the Worcester Police Department, officers were dispatched around 11:13 a.m. on May 8 after receiving a report that a federal agent was encircled by approximately 25 people. Another caller reported that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers were present and allegedly refusing to show a warrant to those gathered.
Officers arrived to find what they described as a “chaotic scene,” with several federal agents from different agencies attempting to detain a woman and leave the area in a vehicle. Police said the crowd became unruly, with several individuals physically interfering with both federal agents and Worcester officers in an effort to prevent the vehicle from leaving.
According to a statement shared with Spectrum News by the Department of Homeland Security, the woman detained was identified as Ferreira de Oliveira, who, according to ICE, entered the U.S. illegally in August 2022. DHS said she had previously been arrested by local police on charges including assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault on a pregnant woman.
The agency described her as a “violent criminal illegal alien” and alleged that Worcester District 5 Councilor Etel Haxhiaj “pulled a political stunt and incited chaos” by attempting to obstruct law enforcement during the incident. ICE also credited the Trump administration’s border policies for enabling her arrest and removal. Haxhiaj has not publicly responded to the allegation; multiple messages sent by the Worcester Guardian seeking comment have not been returned.
Juvenile and adult arrests amid confrontation
In one particularly tense moment, a juvenile female stood in front of the vehicle holding a newborn, police said. Police said officers warned the girl she was endangering the child, and she eventually handed the infant to someone else. As the vehicle pulled away, she reportedly kicked the passenger side of the car and appeared to run toward it. Officers took her into custody and charged her with reckless endangerment of a child, disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest. The infant was not injured.
Another individual, identified by police as 38-year-old Ashley Spring of Waconah Road, was arrested after allegedly pushing multiple officers and throwing an unknown liquid at them during the scuffle. Spring, who is a candidate for the Worcester School Committee in the upcoming municipal election this November, faces charges of assault and battery on a police officer, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (the liquid), disorderly conduct, and interfering with a police officer.
Video footage and political fallout
Videos of the incident, including the arrests and confrontation with federal agents, have circulated widely on platforms such as Facebook and X, with many users expressing outrage and questioning the role of ICE and the response by local law enforcement. Some clips appear to show parts of the scene described by police, though the full context of the events remains under review.
A crowd of protesters converged on the street—some clearly angry with the agents. Among those on hand was District 5 City Councilor Etel Haxhiaj, according to Yahoo! News.
City leaders respond
In a statement issued later in the day, City Manager Eric Batista acknowledged the public’s concern over the events and the growing tension surrounding immigration enforcement.
“My heart goes out to all those impacted by today’s events and the growing tension we all feel due to the national political climate,” Batista said. “The series of events was no doubt disturbing and the footage of a family being separated is harrowing.”
He noted that Worcester police were dispatched following multiple emergency calls and that officers attempted to deescalate a chaotic situation that included the endangerment of an infant. Batista also reiterated city policy on immigration enforcement: “The municipality will never target individuals based on their immigration status and reaffirm that the City of Worcester and Worcester Police Department does not assist with ICE civil detainments, according to Massachusetts State Law, but may not interfere with it.” He added that it remains the responsibility of both the city and police department “to uphold the law and protect the peace of our community.”
Shortly after the incident, At-Large Councilor Thu Nguyen posted on Facebook: “Worcester Police Department posted this as their account of what happened today. Our community experienced today completely differently. WPD is not suppose [sic] to assist ICE and yet here we are with our residents being charged. I have spent the entire day with community and so have Councilor Haxhiaj and Councilor [Khrystian] King. We witnessed and watched. I reached out to the City Manager expressing how shameful it is that our officers assisted and charged residents! This should outrage us all!”
In the wake of the confrontation, hundreds of protesters gathered outside Worcester’s City Hall Friday evening in a demonstration organized in part by the activist group Worcester Indivisible. The group’s Facebook page described the scene as a peaceful but forceful show of dissent.
“We shut down downtown,” organizer Jim Miller wrote, adding that Worcester police “kept their distance and shut down the intersections when we marched through them.” Miller praised the support of councilors King, Pacillo, Luis Ojeda, and Haxhiaj, while criticizing the responses from Petty and Batista. “We need a strong presence at the city council meeting on Tuesday to send a message that we will not allow this kind of lawlessness on our streets,” he wrote.
Another large protest, this time on Sunday, again drew demonstrators to City Hall in opposition to ICE operations and the city’s response, according to WCVB.
Petty files order seeking policy clarity
Mayor Joseph Petty, who had previously expressed concern, issued a follow-up statement on Friday afternoon calling for a formal city policy on how local departments interact with ICE.
“I have filed an order with the City Clerk regarding ICE,” Petty said. “The order reads, ‘Request the city manager and chief of police create a written policy on how we interact with ICE as a city.’
“I am concerned that this arrest will not be the last, and I want to ensure that we have guidelines in place so that we can respond,” he added. “Let’s be clear: we were not notified of ICE’s presence in Worcester until the Worcester police were called to the scene. We have not yet been provided any information about the identity of the person detained, nor where she has been placed. As a lifelong resident of Worcester, this incident was profoundly disturbing, and I am deeply concerned about the wellbeing of our community in this current political climate.”
“While the City of Worcester cannot intervene in federal jurisdiction, I hope that we can establish a protocol so that we can respond without further harming the people in our community.”
Councilor King calls ICE action ‘insidious’
On Friday morning, King issued a statement calling ICE’s approach “insidious, deliberate, and cynical,” saying such strategies create fear in immigrant communities and may lead to self-deportation. He called on the city to issue a full report detailing the “scope, scale, and measure” of its response to the incident.
King said that long-term harm is caused by such operations, especially to children and families, and urged those with immigration concerns to prepare individual and family safety plans. He also stressed the importance of combating misinformation, citing the trauma this event has caused in real time.
Although Worcester has not formally declared itself a sanctuary city, King noted that it remains committed to being a welcoming place for immigrants. He referenced the Lunn v. Commonwealth ruling, which bars local police from detaining people solely on ICE detainer requests, and noted that complying with such requests is voluntary—not mandated by law. Unlawful detainment, he warned, could expose officers and municipalities to legal risk.
King said he was in touch with community members, immigration attorneys, state legislators, and federal officials on the day of the incident. He also recommended that people witnessing ICE activity use non-escalation tactics and make use of available resources like red cards and Know Your Rights apps.
NAACP Worcester demands accountability and civilian oversight
Fred Taylor Sr., president of the Worcester chapter of the NAACP, issued a strong rebuke of Thursday’s events in a statement Friday.
“It is hard to describe the militarized and overwhelming police response we witnessed on Eureka St. as anything other than an egregious over-use of force by both federal and local law enforcement,” Taylor said.
“We saw both federal and Worcester officers descending on a Worcester family with a level of aggression that is commonly used when apprehending known armed and dangerous people, not a mother and her 80lb sixteen-year-old daughter,” he continued. “Yesterday ICE showed up, masked and in military gear, some with rifles at their sides and ICE took a mother for who knows what because no one explained. What are we doing? Where are we heading?”
Taylor said the community is seeing “not simply a failure to de-escalate a crisis situation but instead the instigation and escalation of the situation.”
In response, the NAACP Worcester branch is calling for an independent investigation into the incident and is renewing its call for the creation of a civilian review board with full investigatory and subpoena power.
“Our community deserves better,” Taylor wrote. “Our police need to be serving all members of our community without bias, and we must stand together in the face of such troubling actions.”
Worcester Police union slams Councilor Haxhiaj
The Worcester Police Patrol Officers’ Union — New England Police Benevolent Association Local 911 — released a statement on Friday condemning what it called a “hostile and uncooperative” crowd and the actions of District 5 Councilor Etel Haxhiaj.
“Of particular concern in this case, one of our elected policy makers and someone who has created this difficult task for the police, District 5 City Councilor, Etel Haxhiaj, incited aggression towards the police during the incident,” Union President Thomas Duffy wrote. “This councilor participated in the conduct of the unruly crowd and eventually assaulted both Worcester police and federal law enforcement officers on scene.”
The union statement continued:
“Regardless of political opinions or views, city officials should never condone the assault of an officer and flat-out disregard to the point of violent opposition, the authority of police to maintain safety and public order. The Worcester Police Patrolman’s Union Local 911 will not stand silently in the face of such outrageous conduct or allow the safety of our officers to be put at risk by any individual.”
The union demanded an ethics investigation into Haxhiaj’s conduct and said it believes federal authorities may also pursue charges against others involved.
“No one has the right to act in such a reckless manner towards police officers, and we demand accountability for all criminal and ethically deplorable behavior.”
Ongoing investigation
Worcester police said the incident remains under investigation and that they are reviewing video footage. Additional charges may follow.
This is a rapidly developing story and is updated as more information becomes available. Refresh the page for updates.
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