Shortly before 8AM on the rainy morning of May 5, several masked men — identifying themselves as “federal officers” and wearing insignia saying “POLICE” and “HSI” — emerged from five dark vehicles that had stopped and surrounded a Ford Focus on Maple Street in Watertown. In the car were two Latino men. The officers commanded the two to exit the car, but they did not.
For over twenty minutes, the car doors and windows remained locked, and the officers spoke and yelled through the glass at the two men. Then about 8:19AM, the officers broke through the two windows on the right side of the car.
This article is based on accounts of eyewitnesses interviewed by Fig City News and two videos of the incident reviewed by Fig City News.
The officers removed the man from the front passenger seat, restrained him on the sidewalk, and later held him pressed against the car. The officers attempted, with some force, to remove the driver from the car. In that struggle, the driver managed to run several yards across and down Maple Street — to the Newton / Watertown line, or perhaps just over it — where he was apprehended by four officers.
The officers put the two men into SUVs, and the caravan of federal vehicles departed. Left behind was the Ford Focus with two side windows smashed.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) are separate agencies within Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the Department of Homeland Security. HSI focuses on criminal investigations, while ERO deals primarily with immigration and deportation. An eyewitness heard one of the HSI officers say that one of the men being taken into custody had a record of multiple criminal charges.
Eyewitnesses living in the neighborhood said that the two men had been punched repeatedly. One eyewitness recorded what he said sounded like a Taser being used on the driver as he was subdued by four officers.
A man who said he is a friend of the driver later told Fig City News that the driver was originally from Guatemala and has lived in the U.S. for 15-20 years.
When Fig City News asked the Newton Police Department about the incident, Lt. Amanda Henrickson, Commander of the Community Services Bureau, said, “There was no incident in Newton. Newton Police received a call this morning for Maple St. in Newton, but there was nothing showing in the area.” When asked about neighbors reporting that one of the two men was apprehended just over the line, in Newton, Lt. Henrickson said, “The Newton Police cannot confirm the information. The Newton Police were not informed of an arrest in Newton.”
Some Newton residents in the immediate area said that regardless of whether this incident actually spilled over the city line into Newton, from their viewpoint what they called horror had indeed come to their Newton neighborhood, and they expressed alarm and unease. They spoke of a lack of due process, a lack of human civility and kindness, an abundance of fear for what’s next, and concerns about what they could do. And not one of them would allow their name in print.
UPDATE 1: Mayor’s message
In response to multiple messages from residents regarding this incident, Mayor Ruthanne Fuller has sent this email response, which says in part:
- “Local police may not interfere with federal agents exercising their authority… .”
- “Newton Police Department does not aid, assist or play any role in ICE’s efforts.”
- “ICE does have broad authority to enforce immigration laws in cities and towns.”
- [If the City learns of an incident in Newton] “involving the potential violation of a suspected immigrant’s civil rights,” [the City] “will quickly alert the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General.
- Newton’s Health and Human Services directs residents to the Resources for Immigrants in Massaschusetts page on the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office website for information about rights afforded immigrants.
UPDATE 2: WBUR podcast about this incident and ICE secrecy
On May 8, WBUR presented a podcast by Simón Rios — An ICE arrest in Watertown highlights secrecy around immigration enforcement — based on this incident on the Watertown/Newton line. Rios explored the secrecy and lack of information surrounding such operations carried out by ICE. In the podcast, he said that:
- Neither ICE nor its parent, Homeland Security, responded to emailed inquiries.
- Three local police departments all said they knew nothing about the arrests.
- WBUR was able to identify the driver, track down his court records, and find him in ICE’s Online Detainee Locator System.
- WBUR found two charges against the driver, from 2020, and they were continued without a finding.
Ed. Note: We have updated this article to include a message from Mayor Fuller and a WBUR podcast based on the incident.
