The City Manager of Worcester, Massachusetts, has issued an executive order banning his police department and other city agencies from cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Manager Eric Batista’s executive order came on the heels of the release of police body cam footage of the arrest of Rosane Ferreira-De Oliveira, who attempted to interfere in the legal actions by ICE agents.
Batista issued the order on May 16 to warn city officials and members of the city’s police department against working with ICE. The order states that “municipal employees shall not participate in an operation led by a federal agency solely for the enforcement of federal civil immigration laws.”
Employees, the order says, “shall not inquire about immigration status nor shall immigration status impact the treatment of a resident, victim, suspect, arrestee, 911 caller, or other member of the public with whom a Municipal employee has contact.”