Protesters heckled Worcester City Manager Eric Batista during his annual State of the City speech Wednesday night, the latest example of community backlash to a recent federal immigration operation that’s stunned many residents.
Batista was barely audible at times while the dozen or so activists in the audience berated him for his response to the operation by U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement. Appearing stoic, the city manager called for the city to unify, but had to briefly pause his prepared remarks as the protesters yelled “ICE out of Worcester” and “Batista out of office.” Security escorted several of them out during the address.
“I’m not insisting that we all agree with each other,” Batista said. “I’m asking that we listen to each other and treat each with other respect.”
Local activist David Webb led many of the chants throughout the speech. Afterward, Webb said he disrupted it because he’s frustrated Batista hasn’t pushed back harder against the ICE operation.
“I don’t know what his values are, but I can see the impact of the decisions he’s made on the city and we get further and further away from safety, away from transparency and away from decency,” Webb said.
The federal immigration operation two weeks ago turned chaotic when about 30 neighbors and activists tried to prevent agents from taking a Brazilian woman into custody. Worcester police responded to the scene and ultimately arrested the woman’s 16-year-old daughter, as well as a local advocate.
The police department has since said officers were called to deal with crowd concerns, not help with the immigration operation. But many residents say that instead of deescalating the situation, officers used excessive force when they pinned the 16-year-old to the ground, continuing a pattern highlighted in a recent investigation into Worcester police by the U.S. Department of Justice.
In response to the complaints, Batista issued an executive order May 16 reiterating that Worcester officers never investigate or arrest anyone solely based on their immigration status. His office also began releasing police body camera footage of the incident, and the police department asked that all charges against the teenager be dropped.
On Wednesday, Batista acknowledged that immigration enforcement incident has caused many people pain.
“When I heard the anguished shrieks as a mother and a daughter were separated less than two weeks ago, I thought of my own family. I thought about what I would do if my sons or my wife were taken from me,” he said.
Before moving on in his speech to discuss other issues like the city’s housing shortage and trash removal, Batista stressed that residents must come together and heal community divisions.
“We all want Worcester to thrive,” he said. “And just like a family, we come together in times of hardship and in times of triumph. We are at our strongest when we stand together.”
After Batista finished, the host for the event, Paul Matthews — executive director of the Worcester Regional Research Bureau — told the audience he commended Batista for his “grace under pressure, which I think we’ve seen quite literally this evening.”
Other people were less impressed. Local activist James Miller said he watched the speech online. While he disagreed with the protesters’ decision to heckle Batista, Miller said it was bound to happen.
He accused Batista of refusing to have genuine discussions with the community about how Worcester can better protect residents and hold the police department accountable. Batista’s recent executive order, he added, didn’t change anything the city does regarding federal immigration operations.
Miller speculated that Batista isn’t being more forceful against federal immigration enforcement actions because he’s concerned doing so could jeopardize funding Worcester receives from the federal government.
“He thinks he is going to squeak by consequence free. But this is a cup that he’s not going to be able to pass because ICE will be back and the people of Worcester will stand up to them,” Miller said. “I think he could come away from this and really make a statement that really addresses the issues.”
