The mayor of Fitchburg is calling for “advance notice” from ICE before they conduct operations in her city after the feds accused a husband of trying to interfere with the arrest of his illegal alien wife by “faking a seizure.”
Mayor Sam Squailia is thanking city residents for recording federal agents attempting to detain Ecuadoran national Juliana Milena Ojeda-Montoya during the chaotic scene, one that she describes as an “impossible situation” for local officers.
“To everyone who showed up to support neighbors and families, thank you,” the mayor said in a statement posted on her Facebook page Friday afternoon. “Your presence makes an impact. … Recording these interactions ensures our community’s stories are told, and it allows the public to see what occurs when federal agents operate in our city.
“These unannounced federal actions place our local officers in an impossible situation,” the mayor added. “When federal agents report they are ‘in danger,’ our officers are obligated to respond.”
Agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement requested the Fitchburg Police Department to assist with a traffic stop just after 7 a.m. Thursday. The stop turned into an attempted arrest, according to local law enforcement.
ICE requested further assistance from Fitchburg police minutes after 8 a.m., with agents stating that a “crowd was gathering,” and they “were in danger.”
“Units on scene confirmed that a crowd was gathering and that the situation was hostile,” Fitchburg police said in a statement on Thursday. “At that point more units were requested and dispatched to the scene to keep the peace.”
In videos that witnesses took at the scene and then posted on social media – now gone viral – a man is seen in a car appearing to have a seizure, with a baby girl close by. Bystanders are heard yelling, “Look at what they’re doing. He’s seizing, he’s seizing,” and “I’m allowed to document. This is my right. He’s having a seizure, and they’re trying to rip the baby out of their hands.”
Fitchburg police reported that at about 8:57 a.m., federal agents had apprehended “one adult female,” later identified as Ojeda-Montoya. The woman’s baby daughter and husband, Carlos Sebastian Zapata, “were allowed to leave the scene,” authorities stated.
“The role of the Fitchburg Police Department in this type of situation is to keep the peace,” the department said in its statement of the incident. “Keeping the peace includes making sure both the public as a whole as well as the federal law enforcement agents are safe.”
“The Fitchburg Police Department does not enforce federal immigration laws,” it added, “nor do we interfere with the lawful actions of other law enforcement agencies.”
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said that ICE targeted Ojeda-Montoya, whom she describes as a “violent criminal illegal alien who, in August, repeatedly stabbed her coworker with scissors & then threw a trash can at her victim.”
McLaughlin added that responders on scene found no legitimate medical episode,” and that Ojeda-Montoya’s husband “refused any medical care.” The Biden administration released the Ecuadoran national into the country in 2023, she said.
Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee reacted to the incident in a social media post Friday morning, stating, “DHS will lie. They always do. BUT LOOK WITH YOUR EYES!! Is this right? the WORST OF THE WORST?? Absolutely not. And shame on anyone who says otherwise.”
Boston Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley reacted in a post later Friday afternoon, “WARNING: The violence and cruelty is hard to watch, but impossible for families to endure. This is a sickening example of Trump and ICE’s blatant disregard for humanity as they terrorize our families and communities. It is shameful, cruel, and it must end.”
The Department of Homeland Security is responding to the backlash, accusing Ojeda-Montoya’s husband of “FAKING a seizure to help a criminal escape justice.”
“The target of this operation … is the WORST OF THE WORST,” the department stated in a post on its X page Friday afternoon.
In a release, DHS said that ICE agents tried to de-escalate the altercation with Ojeda-Montoya and Zapata Rivera, requesting the father take custody of the child. The parents said they were willing to place their daughter into state custody.
“Once Zapata Rivera realized he would be arrested for immigration violations if he did not agree to take custody of the child,” the department stated, “he suddenly decided to be a good father and left with the child.”
McLaughlin slammed the media for running with a “FALSE narrative about our brave ICE law enforcement officers. As usual, here’s the REAL story: ICE targeted a known criminal who repeatedly stabbed her coworker.”
Fitchburg Mayor Squailia is reiterating that officers responded to the scene after it had already escalated and that officers have a “limited role” while on the site of ICE arrests, as they are responsible for “scene safety, de-escalation, traffic control, and people’s rights protection.”
The mayor says that her city supports “First Amendment rights to assemble, to document, and to speak out.”
“As the law stands today,” Squailia said in her statement, “federal agents are not required to provide information to our police, nor are they required to present paper warrants during apprehensions. … This lack of cooperation limits transparency and hampers our police department’s ability to manage a volatile scene safely.”
“Our residents should never fear retaliation for exercising their rights,” the mayor added. “Our police officers should not be drawn into dangerous situations and then left in the dark when federal immigration operations occur in our neighborhoods. We deserve better through clear protocols, advance notice, and transparency that protects both community and officer safety.”
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