After former Worcester City Councilor Etel Haxhiaj was found guilty of assaulting a police officer during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrest and not guilty of interfering with police during the arrest, several residents expressed disappointment, anger and worry over the verdict.
“Massachusetts and Worcester dropped the ball on this with this verdict against Etel Haxhiaj,” said Worcester resident Yenni Desroches. “Not only have we not set public policy that protects our community and local law enforcement when ICE inserts themselves but we have chosen as a society to prosecute the few who stood up anyway.”
On Worcester’s Eureka Street the morning of May 8, Haxhiaj and a crowd of more than 30 people confronted ICE agents as they arrested Rosane Ferreira-De Oliveira, a 40-year-old mother from Brazil. The scene was chaotic as Ferreira-De Oliveira’s adult and teenage daughter screamed as they saw their mother being taken away. The mother was released in October 2025 after being granted asylum…