A fiery showdown erupted in Worcester on May 8, 2025, when City Councilwoman Etel Haxhiaj allegedly turned a routine Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrest into a street brawl, obstructing officers and riling up a mob.

The Worcester Police Patrolman’s Union is demanding an ethics probe and hinting at criminal charges, accusing Haxhiaj of assaulting police during a critical operation to detain a Brazilian woman with a violent past.

As President Trump’s immigration crackdown gains steam, the incident exposes the chaos unleashed when local leaders defy federal law enforcement.

The drama kicked off at 11:15 a.m. on Eureka Terrace, where ICE agents moved to arrest Ferreira de Oliveira, a Brazilian national previously charged with assaulting a pregnant woman—a prime target for Trump’s deportation push.

A crowd of over 25 gathered, shouting “no warrant!” and “not the mother!” as tensions boiled over.

Worcester police arrived to back ICE, but the union says Haxhiaj, a progressive District 5 councilwoman, crossed a line.

“Councilwoman Haxhiaj didn’t just show up—she incited aggression and assaulted our officers and ICE agents,” said Thomas Duffy, president of the Worcester Police Patrolman’s Union Local 911.

“This wasn’t oversight. It was a deliberate attempt to sabotage a lawful arrest.”

Duffy’s union demands a city investigation, pointing to unreleased video evidence they claim shows Haxhiaj’s actions. Two others were arrested: Ashley Spring, a Worcester School Committee candidate, charged with assaulting an officer and hurling liquid at police, and a juvenile—reportedly de Oliveira’s daughter—accused of kicking an ICE vehicle and endangering a child.

Both were released pending court dates, but the focus remains on Haxhiaj.

At a May 9 press conference, Haxhiaj sidestepped the assault claims, instead blasting ICE and Worcester police. “Their response was completely unacceptable,” she said, demanding ICE “get out of our city.”

She painted the operation as an attack on a family with a newborn, a narrative that resonates with Worcester’s progressive base but sidesteps the detainee’s criminal record.

Trump’s immigration policies, which prioritize deporting criminals like de Oliveira, are reshaping communities like Worcester.

The administration’s hardline stance has empowered ICE to act swiftly, but local resistance is fierce. A December 2024 Department of Justice report slamming Worcester police for excessive force adds fuel to the fire, with critics like Haxhiaj leveraging it to question law enforcement’s tactics.

“People are fed up with federal overreach tearing families apart,” said Maria Torres, a local activist at the scene. Yet Duffy counters that Haxhiaj’s actions endangered everyone involved.

“Elected officials can’t assault officers and expect a free pass. This is about law and order, not politics.”

The incident mirrors a growing trend of local officials clashing with ICE, from Newark to New York, as Trump’s deportation machine ramps up.

Worcester police, already under scrutiny, now face accusations of enabling federal overreach while grappling with crowd violence. The union insists Haxhiaj’s interference undermined a necessary operation.

“We’re talking about removing a documented threat from our streets,” Duffy said. “She chose to protect a criminal over public safety.”

City officials are mum on the ethics probe, and ICE hasn’t confirmed charges. Without public video, Haxhiaj’s exact role—instigator or bystander—remains unclear. But the stakes are high. As Trump’s policies take hold, Worcester’s clash could signal more battles between federal mandates and local defiance, with law enforcement caught in the crossfire.