School board candidate arrested in confrontation with ICE on Eureka Street in Worcester

Yahoo

12-05-2025

(This story has been updated with new information.)
WORCESTER — The arrival of immigration agents on Eureka Street sparked protests and a chorus of claims by Worcester officials that such police action is not welcomed in the city.
"Local government cannot abandon its residents the way that the federal administration has turned its back on being known as the land of opportunity," Mayor Joseph Petty wrote in a letter announcing his call for the chief of police to put in writing the Police Department's working relationship with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
On May 8, two people were arrested by Worcester police on Eureka Street in a situation involving agents from ICE.
Witnesses say the federal agents were at a local residence to detain a woman of Brazilian descent.
A crowd of protesters converged on the street, with some clearly angry with the agents. Video of the scene was widely shared on social media.
Among those on hand was District 5 City Councilor Etel Haxhiaj. For a time, she acted as a shield between authorities and the woman who was sought by ICE, according to video of the confrontation.
When reached for comment, a spokesperson for ICE said that the agency does not comment on ongoing operations.
One of the two people arrested, Ashley R. Spring, a School Committee candidate, spoke to a reporter while in handcuffs, as officers held her at Eureka and Stafford streets before she was taken away in a police vehicle.
Spring recently qualified to run on the November ballot for School Committee District A.
Police said Spring, 38, of Waconah Road, pushed police officers while they were arresting another person. She allegedly threw a liquid at officers, police said. She is charged with assault and battery on a police officer and interfering with a police officer, among other charges. She was arraigned in Central District Court on May 9 and released on personal recognizance. She is due back in court on June 23.
'The community gathered,' Spring said on Eureka Street while in handcuffs. 'We found out that (ICE) didn't have a warrant. They didn't have not just a judicial warrant. They didn't have a warrant at all. They wouldn't present it.
'The community decided that these women were free to go, and the women decided to go and exercise their right to leave. At that point, the police continued to try to brutalize them, to rip the baby out of the mother's arms, 4-week-old baby, and the community tried to intervene and help them.'
Police said officers were called around 11:15 a.m. after learning 'a hostile crowd had surrounded a federal agent.' Police described the crowd as unruly, saying "several people were putting their hands on federal agents and Worcester police officers."
'WPD officers were not initially on scene,' a police spokesman said.
Later in the day, City Manager Eric D. Batista issued a statement on the Eureka Street incident: "I want to reassure our community that 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. However, it is the municipality and department's responsibility to uphold the law and protect the peace of our community."
The next day, Petty filed an order with the city clerk in which he formally requests that Police Chief Paul Saucier create a written policy on how the department interacts with ICE.
Some of those present at the scene on Eureka Street shouted in the direction of Worcester police officers, saying that they were assisting ICE.
References were made to statements made by police and city leadership in January, when police and city leadership stated that the city would not coordinate with ICE and that city police would not arrest on the basis of immigration status.
Among the few dozen people gathered on Eureka Street about 11:30 a.m. was Haxhiaj. She declined to comment on the situation when approached by a reporter.
Jill Phillips of Worcester, who said she witnessed the scene unfold, described an ICE agent refusing to produce a warrant before detaining a woman of Brazilian descent.
Phillips said that agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Enforcement and Removal Operations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection were also present at the scene.
''We don't have to show you anything,'' Phillips said she was told by an ICE agent. ''She knows what she's supposed to do. She was supposed to report to court today.''
After the woman was placed in a vehicle, witnesses said her daughter followed the vehicle, which is when Worcester police arrested her.
Police said that before doing so, the juvenile had also stood in front of the car holding a newborn baby in her arms. After giving the baby to someone else, police said "she ran after the vehicle and kicked the passenger's side of it.
"It appeared that she was going to run in front of the moving vehicle, and officers took her into custody," police added.
The juvenile is charged with reckless endangerment of a child, disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, police said. The baby was not injured.
Video of the confrontation was posted on social media. It shows both Spring and the juvenile also being placed under arrest.
Immigration activists later gathered in front of the Worcester County Courthouse for updates on the arrests. City Council Vice Chair Khrystian E. King was on hand.
"It's important that people know their rights,' King said. 'These sorts of occurrences result in impacting families.'
Petty said he has asked for a report on the incident.
"As someone who prides themselves on leading a welcoming city, I am devastated to hear about the separation of a family, especially with Mother's Day around the corner," Petty said in a statement. "The fear of ICE tearing a family apart is the worst nightmare of so many in our city."
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: School board candidate arrested in confrontation with ICE on Eureka St.