Protest planned against Homeland Security career event at Worcester college
Students at the College of the Holy Cross and some Worcester residents plan to protest an annual event Thursday afternoon during which Department of Homeland Security representatives discuss federal careers.
Some Holy Cross students organized a protest and will be joined by residents in a show of support, according to Mysti Green, a board member for the political group, Worcester Indivisible.
For six years, Homeland Security representatives have visited Holy Cross' campus to talk about federal careers, according to a letter President Vincent D. Rougeau wrote to the Holy Cross community dated Nov. 13. This year's meeting will be held over Zoom, he wrote.
A flyer Green shared with MassLive demands Holy Cross to cancel that meeting — scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Nov. 13 — calling it an "ICE recruitment event." Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, is a component of DHS.
Green said she was unsure how many people would show up for the protest outside Hogan Campus Center Thursday afternoon.
"Many in the Holy Cross community are deeply upset by some tactics currently being employed by the federal government in the area of immigration enforcement," Rougeau wrote in the letter. "In recognition of this, some are planning to peacefully demonstrate. Holy Cross affirms the rights of students, faculty and staff to express ideas and state their agreement or disagreement with the opinions of others. This includes the right to disagree through peaceful protest that does not disrupt campus operations, work or learning, violate college policy or cause a threat to campus safety."
A DHS and ICE spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday.
In response to the upcoming meeting, Worcester District 5 Councilor Etel Haxhiaj wrote an open letter to Rougeau asking him not to allow ICE on the college's campus.
In her letter, which she posted online , Haxhiaj wrote about the chaotic ICE operation on Eureka Street on May 8. The operation led to the arrest of Rosane Ferreira-De Oliveira, a Brazilian mother of four who was eventually released in October.
Haxhiaj was present at the arrest, where she confronted ICE agents and Worcester police officers who were called to the scene. She currently faces charges related to an interaction she had with a Worcester police officer.
"I am sure, like me, you feel the pain of a community that is being terrorized by armed men inciting fear, separation and division in our neighborhoods," Haxhiaj wrote. "Do you still hear the screams of a seventeen-year-old child watching her innocent mother being dragged away in an unmarked SUV surrounded by armed police and ICE agents? I do. Every day."
Rougeau, through a college spokesperon, declined to comment beyond the letter, including whether he would consider canceling the meeting.
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