We Can Resist—Know Your Rights
City of Worcester informs residents of their rights; refuses to assist ICE arrests:
City reaffirms commitment to immigrant safety amid ICE concerns (Worcester Guardian)
WORCESTER—“It’s a shame that in Washington, we have a government trying to divide us. In the city of Worcester we’re not going to let this happen,” said Mayor Joseph Petty, when the city council on Tuesday discussed Worcester’s policies regarding the immigration population and defined the city’s required responsiveness to the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations, after executive orders by President Donald Trump.
Petty had proposed the agenda item, which would state that Worcester officials, including police, would not aid any ICE agents. He said he spoke at five churches in Worcester over the weekend prior to the Jan. 28 meeting, and found a common thread.
“People are scared,” he said. “They’re scared to go to church, scared to go to work, they might even be scared to go to school. That’s just unacceptable, totally unacceptable. People need to be safe in this city and need to feel safe.”
ICE would need a warrant from a federal judge to go into a school, Petty said, and that the policy is Massachusetts state law and children can not be released from school for any reason without parental permission.
“We want children to be safe and to feel safe in Worcester Public Schools,” he said, adding that if a violent incident were taking place and ICE required backup, WPD would assist in that case.
WPD’s policy on ICE operations
“We do follow Lunn vs. the Commonwealth,” Acting Police Chief Paul Saucier said. “There is no police agency within Massachusetts, common law or statutorily, that can effect an arrest through a civil proceeding.”
The State Supreme Court’s Decision, from July 24, 2017, states: “Massachusetts law provides no authority for Massachusetts court officers to arrest and hold an individual solely on the basis of a Federal civil immigration detainer, beyond the time that the individual would otherwise be entitled to be released from State custody…This case concerns detention based solely on a civil immigration detainer. This was not a situation where a detainer provided an officer with probable cause that a Federal criminal offense had been committed. We therefore do not address the authority or obligations of Massachusetts officers who, by a detainer or otherwise, acquire information of a Federal criminal offense.”
Mayor Petty: ‘people need to feel safe’
“Worcester has always been a city of immigrants,” the mayor added. “We accept people here from all over the world. Because the federal government is inept when it comes to immigration, my job is to represent everybody in the city of Worcester. With what’s going on in Washington, they don’t even know what the rules are anymore.”
Petty asked that the city also advise residents of the policy, and advocated handing out cards that inform immigrants as well as citizens of their rights.
Council calls for clear communication to residents
“We need to have that policy clear, in one written documents,” Petty said. “[The card] talks about the right to remain silent. It talks about the right to an attorney. It talks about opening your door.”
Council member Donna Colorio urged the city to distribute the information “sooner, not later.”
“There’s a lot of confusion and misinformation in the community,” she said. I think we need to get the truth out [about] what our role is as a city, what our role is as a state, and what the role is of the federal government.”
“It is important that people hear that the Worcester Police Department will never target individuals based on their immigration status,” City Manager Eric Batista said, “because I don’t want them to see one of our officers and be intimidate.”
Councilman Khrystian King said the reality for families in Worcester is one of fear, including undocumented teens who are pursuing special juvenile status based on circumstances beyond their control.
“We have children who are afraid to go to school,” King said. “They’re afraid that they’re going to come home and their parents are gone.”
Saucier explained WPD policy 211, covering bias-free policing, at King’s request.
“The bias-free policing basically states that everybody is to be treated equally, regardless of their status, including immigration status,” Saucier said, adding that officers are informed of any policy changes and are required to read and sign off on them.
Also answering one of King’s questions, Saucier said he has no knowledge of ICE operations in Worcester, except that one person was picked up for “a pretty bad felony.”
Economic and public safety concerns raised
Council member Candy Mero-Carlson added that she and Petty spoke to about 125 people over the weekend, and reiterated that people are scared, and that could lead to an economic impact.
“A lot of individuals have made a decision not to go to work,” she said. “If they don’t go to work, how are they eating. We need to talk to these folks and let them know what’s happening, and let them know that we are here for them.”
Mero-Carlson added that the president’s policies could affect the city’s federal funding, and that would affect many local agencies of many types.
“If that happens, this community is going to have to come together like no other time in our history,” she said, asking the city administration to provide information on what that impact would mean.
King added that public safety is also at risk, as people will be less likely to come forward on matters of child welfare, domestic violence, as well asl people who witness crimes.
“Folks will not come forward, even if they have the proper paperwork, based on the fear of the governments, institutions and systems that they have had sought asylum from,” King said. “People aren’t going to work, they aren’t going to the doctor.”
Steve Smith is a veteran reporter from Connecticut with 17 years of experience at The Hartford Courant. Now based in Worcester, he brings his passion for photojournalism to his work and spends much of his free time behind the camera. He can be reached at steve@stevephotographysmith.com
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