Latest news with #Haxhiaj
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Worcester became a transgender ‘sanctuary city' but community says more must be done
Five months ago, the Worcester City Council passed a resolution declaring Worcester a 'sanctuary city' for transgender and gender-diverse people. Unlike more commonly used 'sanctuary city' designations for undocumented immigrants, which often come with specific police policies or other protections, the transgender sanctuary city designation is largely symbolic. The resolution was an affirmation of the city's support for the transgender and gender-diverse community, according to Thomas Matthews, a spokesperson for City Manager Eric D. Batista. Danielle Killay, the parent of a 14-year-old transgender daughter, was one of several people who pushed for the sanctuary city designation. But even though they were successful, Killay told MassLive that a supportive statement does not make Worcester a true 'sanctuary' for their daughter. 'It's not law, it's not an ordinance.... It's the first initial statement of 'yes we see you we accept you, we will protect you,' Killay said. 'We need elected officials that have a backbone to stand up for their community.' Killay, who uses they/them pronouns, said their child, Ava, has been fearful for her life as a transgender person. They said their daughter was frightened of footage of a 2020 'back the blue' rally in Pennsylvania where a person began to chant, 'kill transgenders.' The Trump administration has issued executive orders directly targeting transgender and non-binary individuals. These include an order to only issue passports with male or female designations and another stating that the federal government will not 'fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support' gender-affirming care for children. The United States Supreme Court also ruled this year to keep Tennessee's ban in place on gender affirming care — medical care that supports a person's gender identity through surgery, treatments or other means. Killay says their daughter's fears have become so great that she wants to leave the United States. For Worcester to be a true sanctuary for their daughter, city leaders must be more willing to stand up for transgender and gender-diverse people, Killay said. Killay wants other city councilors to follow the example of District 5 Councilor Etel Haxhiaj who they said has stood with the transgender and gender queer community time and time again. Haxhiaj supported naming Worcester a transgender and gender diverse sanctuary city and also demanded the city council to apologize for alleged transphobic comments towards City Councilor-at-Large Thu Nguyen, who is non-binary. 'When the first non-binary elected councilor in Worcester and in the Commonwealth faces transphobia locally and nationally, but only three city councilors and one school committee member condemned this while the majority of the city council leaders are silent, then I have no other conclusion than to say that their public declarations of support for trans, queer, LGTBQI communities have never been real,' Haxhiaj said at a rally in support of Nguyen and the transgender and gender diverse community. While Killay said more must be done to make Worcester a true sanctuary city for transgender and gender diverse people, they also slammed councilors who voted no on the sanctuary city vote. The two councilors who voted against the resolution were Councilors-at-Large Morris Bergman and Donna Colorio. 'To me, if you're afraid not to even take the first step in words, I'm not counting on those people to do the right thing, to protect us now, when the stakes continue to escalate.' Killay expressed anger towards some of the city councilors — saying that those leading Worcester need to stand up not just for queer and transgender people but for those who are Black, immigrants and disabled people. In Worcester, a Brazilian mother was taken by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on May 8 on Eureka Street. Chaos erupted that day as protesters confronted ICE, demanding that they see a warrant and not take the mother, Rosane Ferreira-De Oliveira, who remains imprisoned. Killay said there is a fear transgender people could begin to be arrested, too. 'What I have been sitting here in fear of for my family is masked men coming for us because we have been deemed not suitable,' Killay said 'That's what I am watching them do to immigrants.' Killay expressed frustration over the lack of progress in establishing an LGBTQ+ support fund that would allocate $500,000 annually. The council requested that the city manager create such a fund in January. City spokesperson Thomas Matthews said the administration is still having conversations with a group involved in the fund's creation. 'There will be news shared at a later time,' Matthews said. Killay also expressed dismay that the city's planned LGBTQ+ advisory committee has not yet been officially seated since 2023 — the year the city council approved its creation. The goal of the committee is to provide recommendations to the City Manager regarding issues facing the LGBTQ+ community and to break down barriers that the community may encounter, according to Matthews. He told MassLive the commission would be seated 'soon' and that appointments will be sent to the city council next month. Killay said that they, along with several other residents, have pushed for these proposals. They don't have faith that the City Manager will follow through on them — accusing him of 'pushing the items to the side.' 'They probably go to the city manager's office to die,' Killay said of the proposals. Joshua Croke, a nonbinary and queer Worcester resident who is the founder of the nonprofit Love Your Labels, also expressed disappointment over the lack of progress on the commission. Croke said that being a sanctuary city also requires funding more resources, including organizations like theirs that can help transgender and gender-diverse people. Launched in 2019, Croke's nonprofit organization supports LGTBQ+ youth through art, fashion and design. When they established the organization, its goal was to create a 'joyful and loving space' for LGBTQ+ youths. The program is running classes in the summer, and a fashion show is scheduled to take place in September, coinciding with the city's Pride celebration, according to Croke. 'It's such a powerful tool for affirming who we are, feeling more comfortable in our bodies and then building relationships with people in the community who have similar and different experiences.' Croke says several organizations like theirs offer safe spaces for transgender and gender-diverse people to grow and gain a sense of safety. To bolster those organizations, there must be more funding from the city, state and others, Croke said. 'We need more funding everywhere,' Croke said. 'I can tell you, if someone gave us (Love your Labels) a $3 million check tomorrow, I could tell you all of the things that we would be doing.' Croke also believes that in order for transgender and gender fluid individuals to be truly safe in Worcester, all communities that have been marginalized need to be safe. They said that the lives and experiences of the transgender and gender-diverse community are interlinked with others, such as immigrant communities. 'Queer and trans people exist in all of those groups,' Croke said. Chrissi Bates, a transgender woman who works in Worcester, told MassLive that the city needs to do more in educating the public about transgender healthcare. Bates was the first patient to receive a gender-affirming vaginoplasty in 2024, also known as bottom surgery, at UMass Memorial Hospital in Worcester — making her the first person in Massachusetts to receive such a surgery outside of Boston. For Bates, access and education to transgender healthcare is an important hallmark of a transgender sanctuary city. Bates believes the city has not done enough to help raise awareness about transgender healthcare services provided in the area. 'I would highly recommend people to get their boob job in Worcester over Boston because they use a better implant,' she said. 'UMass is really at the forefront of our trans care... all these surgeries are happening and there's very little media on that but a lot of media on grassroots organizing' She adds that there needs to be more education about basic transgender healthcare, saying that attempts to hold a meeting with the city manager on the issue have been declined. Matthews, the spokesperson for City Manager Batista, said Batista received Bates' request, but understood that Bates had already met with Worcester Commissioner of Health and Human Services Dr. Matilde Castiel, whom he characterized as a representative of the city. Bates said that she has been privileged to receive education and access to healthcare and wants to make sure others in the city are able to acquire such services. 'Whats happened to me medically... I want people to have access what I have access to,' Bates said. 'There needs to be a whole city wide, actual campaign around accessing healthcare for trans people and that would make me more comfortable.' Vaughn Grissom drives in both runs as WooSox drop third straight to RailRiders, 4-2 Chaotic ICE arrest launches start of new Worcester police communication plan Worcester animal shelter to accept stray animals soon amid new partnership Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Worcester City Councilor facing charges for alleged actions during ICE operation in May
A Worcester City councilor is facing charges for her alleged conduct during an federal immigration operation back in May. Police confirm that District 5 Councilor Etel Haxhiaj was charged following an ICE arrest on Eureka Street on May 8. Police did not specify what charges she's facing or when she will appear in court. In a statement, Haxhiaj said she tried to do the right thing. 'I am a mother, an immigrant and elected leader who attempted, along with other Worcester residents, to protect a traumatized young person, two mothers and an infant,' she said. 'I did the humane thing to do in this situation, nothing more, nothing less.' 'Chaotic situation': Two arrested, woman detained as crowd surrounds federal agents in Worcester On that day, a large crowd encircled ICE agents attempting to detain a a Brazilian woman. Video from the scene shows several ICE agents and other law enforcement entities being followed by a crowd while they took the woman into custody. A Worcester School Committee candidate, Ashley Spring, was arrested at the scene for allegedly attacking a police officer. A juvenile female was also arrested for allegedly endangering a child and resisting arrest. Haxhiaj said she is a former refugee who escaped violence living in both Albania and Greece. She says her life calling is to help others. 'Protecting the most vulnerable should not lead to being targeted and vilified,' Haxhiaj said. 'And working to improve policing in our city by calling for oversight and accountability should not provoke political grandstanding and attacks. I look forward to responding to these charges in court.' This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Worcester councilor deposits large donation haul after confronting police at ICE raid
Three days after she confronted Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arresting a Brazilian mother of three on Eureka Street, District 5 Councilor Etel Haxhiaj recorded some of her best fundraising numbers for her re-election campaign. A deposit report recorded May 11, posted on the Office of Campaign and Political Finance of Massachusetts's website, finds that Haxhiaj's campaign deposited $3,691 in total donations — about three times what she had brought in the entire previous month. Donations ranged as low as $5 to as high as $250, the report reads. From April 1 to April 30, Haxhiaj only raised $1,161.00. Her best fundraising month in 2025 was February, when she raised $4,799.00. The nearly $4,000 in donations comes three days after she and other members of her district confronted ICE for their arrest of Rosane Ferreira-De Oliveira as well as local Worcester police at the scene. Kevin Ksen, Haxhiaj's campaign manager, told MassLive he wasn't sure whether a majority of the donations were made before or after the events on Eureka Street. He told MassLive that the last time the campaign sent a fundraising email out was on May 7. On May 8, a Facebook post by Worcester resident Chrissi Bates expressing support for Haxhiaj received 13 shares. 'Thank you for your bravery & service during the Immigration And Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid in today, Etel!' Bates writes. Another Worcester resident, Yenni Desroches, posted a 'Donate To Haxhiaj' link on Facebook on May 11, encouraging others to donate to the councilor on Mother's Day. It's unclear how many people used the donation link shared by Desroches or Bates to donate to Haxhiaj. In body camera footage released by the Worcester Police Department on May 16, Haxhiaj can be seen yelling at ICE officers not to take Ferreira-De Oliveria, and telling them she had a right to be at the scene to help her constituents. Haxhiaj also confronted members of the Worcester Police Department who arrived at the scene and arrested Ferreira-De Oliveria's daughter and now disqualified school committee candidate, Ashley Spring. Officer Juan Vallejo, whose body camera footage and audio were released to the public by the department, was one of the officers responsible for arresting the daughter. In the footage, Haxhiaj walks up to Vallejo and tells him, 'she's my constituent!' 'People who are under arrest are under arrest,' Vallejo replied. 'She is not, she hasn't done anything,' Haxhiaj replied. 'Let her go, she's traumatized. Why are you holding her? Let her go.' 'Well, you can go to the station when she gets her bail, OK?' Vallejo said. 'She's done nothing, why are you arresting her?' Haxhiaj yelled back. Vallejo then grabs Haxhiaj's shoulders and arms to move her back, telling her to back away before turning her around. The councilor asked other officers, 'Are you threatening me?' 'Back away, get your hands off of us,' Vallejo told her before he stepped away, as another officer can be heard saying to Vallejo, 'Jesus, Juan.' The New England Police Benevolent Association Local 911 and the International Brotherhood of Police Officers Local 504 released two statements on May 9 and May 10, respectively, both blasting Haxhiaj for 'physically interfering and physically assaulting' Worcester police officers. 'We stand with our fellow Worcester Police Patrol Officers Union Local 911 and demand an ethics investigation into the egregious actions and behavior of Councilor Haxhiaj,' the letter from Local 504 reads. Jose Rivera, who is running against Haxhiaj in the November election, said he was disappointed with his opponent. 'In the video I heard the councilor say her job as a city councilor is to protect her constituent,' Rivera said in a statement on Facebook. 'That is not a city councilor's job. City councilors are not public safety officials and it is certainly not their job to interfere with an ICE arrest, whether they believe it was legal or not.' Supporters of Haxhiaj, however, said the councilor's actions were a display of leadership. 'Shoutout to Etel Haxhiaj who showed REAL leadership and bravery,' Lindiana Flores Semidei of Worcester wrote on Facebook, May 8. 'No family should be ripped apart like this.' City Councilor-at-Large and Council Vice Chair Khrystian King said in a statement on May 11 that even if people disagree with her response, Haxhiaj 'rose to the moment.' 'She acted urgently to defend a fellow mother, a woman in crisis, a young teen girl, and constituents she was elected to serve,' King wrote. 'In doing so, she stood up against a system that has too often trampled due process and constitutional rights—especially under the Trump administration. That's not grandstanding. That's moral leadership.' Worcester Diocese to close 2 churches, merge 3 parishes Worcester schools candidate arrested at ICE raid ruled ineligible to be on ballot Federal hiring freeze leads to closures at beloved Central Mass. park Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Days later, tensions are high after ICE arrests Brazilian national accused of assault in Worcester
The video taken outside in a Worcester neighborhood is gaining national attention. It shows ice agents detaining 40-year-old Rosane Ferreira de Oliveira, a Brazilian national, last week. Neighbors and city leaders rushed the scene, resulting in Worcester police arresting two people including a School Committee candidate. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security confirmed to Boston 25 News that Ferreira de Oliveira is in the country illegally and faces previous criminal assault charges. An ICE official says Worcester police arrested Ferreira de Oliveira back on Feb. 1 on charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault and battery on a pregnant woman. The arrest has sparked protests by the community. The Worcester police union released a statement on Friday saying officers were there to protect the public and to ensure the federal agents could do their jobs safely. Police union officials also accuse City Councilor Etel Haxhiaj of encouraging the crowd to act aggressively towards police. The police union is calling for an ethics investigation into Haxhiaj, saying she is 'unfit to serve' and accusing the local councilor of using her elected position to incite aggression towards police officers. 'This councilor participated in the conduct of the unruly crowd and eventually assaulted both Worcester police and federal law enforcement officers on scene,' Worcester Police Patrol Officers' Union Local 911 President Thomas Duffy said in a statement Friday. 'Her behavior also emboldened others to act in this manner,' Duffy said. 'The conduct of this anti-police activist councilor is deplorable and unacceptable.' '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,' Duffy said. 'We will take the necessary steps to hold her and anyone who assaults our officers accountable and call upon those state and local policy makers to do the same,' Duffy said. Earlier Friday during a press conference, Haxhiaj said, 'The message to our city manager, our police department and every single member of this community is that the response yesterday from the federal government and the police department was completely unacceptable.' On Monday, we had the opportunity to ask Worcester County officials about the incident. When asked how the department is moving forward after the incident, and whether he believes officers responded appropriately, Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early said, he could not speak for the police department. 'I can't speak for the department, I know you have a great chief and he always looks at things after the fact, what do we do well, what could we do better,' Early said. 'You know that's just part of life and they've been a great partner with us.' Boston 25 has reached out to the police union for further comment on Monday. Haxhiaj's office said she will not comment at this time. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
International Business Times
11-05-2025
- Politics
- International Business Times
Etel Haxhiaj: Police Union Blasts Worchester Councilor for Assaulting ICE and Local Officers During Arrest of Violent Illegal Immigrant
A Massachusetts police union is calling for criminal charges against a City Council member accused of assaulting both local and federal law enforcement officers — and of helping incite a chaotic protest, which was caught on video, during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrest of an alleged violent criminal. The protest spiraled into disorder, with up to 25 residents shouting and chanting "no warrant!" and "not the mother!" — as video footage showed the suspect's daughter standing in front of the unmarked ICE vehicle, holding her infant, in a desperate attempt to stop the arrest. Police say the event wouldn't have turned violent had the council member not provoked the crowd. Instigating Crowd, Fueling Violence Etel Haxhiaj, the District 5 representative on the Worcester City Council, is accused of playing a key role in fueling the crowd that turned violent toward ICE agents and police officers during the Department of Homeland Security operation in a quiet residential area, according to a statement from the Worcester Police Patrolman's Union, obtained by The New York Post. "Etel Haxhiaj incited aggression towards the police during the incident. 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 said in a statement. "Her behavior also emboldened others to act in this manner. "Councilor Haxhiaj, in our opinion, broke her oath and these ethical laws, and in doing so put the safety of our officers and our citizens at great risk." The union's statement called for the city to launch an ethics investigation into Haxhiaj's conduct and urged federal officials to take action against her. Multiple Arrested for Taking Law in Hand Among those involved in the protest was Ashley Spring, a Worcester School Board candidate, who is also accused of attacking local police officers and ICE agents during the tense confrontation. She has been hit with multiple charges, including assault and battery on a law enforcement officer. According to Mass Live, the daughter of De Oliveira was also arrested after she chased the ICE vehicle and kicked its passenger-side door. According to CBS, she is facing charges of child endangerment, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, and disturbing the peace. Haxhiaj "pulled a political stunt and incited chaos by trying to obstruct law enforcement," DHS claimed in a statement obtained by Spectrum Worcester. Ferreira de Oliveira was recently arrested by local police on charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, as well as assault and battery against a pregnant woman, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The agency also said that she unlawfully entered the United States in August 2022. "Through the CBP Home App — the Trump Administration is giving parents illegally in the country a chance to take full control of their departure and self-deport, with the potential ability to return the legal, right way and come back to live the American dream," DHS said in the statement.
