‘Fear' and ‘anger': Teen records ICE agents smashing van window in Waltham

nbcboston.com · By Oscar Margain · 2025-05-13T21:03:10-04:00

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations are prompting responses from community members across Massachusetts, including in Waltham, where an agent was recorded smashing a van window Tuesday. A video taken by 16-year-old Milene Herrera while waiting for her bus to school showed ICE agents breaking the window, then arresting two men in downtown Waltham after they seemingly ignored the agents' orders. "My first feeling was fear, and then it was anger when I saw how they took him out," said Herrera. Herrera said she took a course the previous day on how to document these encounters and help inform people of their rights. "I was just letting him know that he has a right to remain silent and not answer any questions that he doesn't want to," she said. Rumeysa Ozturk is opening up about her stay in a Louisiana ICE detention center after being released Friday. It's unclear what charges either of the two men face or the reasons for their arrest. ICE has not responded to NBC10 Boston's request for comment. The agency, which has been active in the Bay State, has said it is targeting immigrants suspected of crimes or of being in the country illegally. The Waltham incident is at least the third time since President Donald Trump took office in January that ICE agents were recorded breaking a vehicle's window in Massachusetts. It happened Sunday in Chelsea, where agents detained a man after he left church with his family on Mother's Day. Last month in New Bedford, a man who was in his car with his wife was arrested after an agent smashed his window. According to his lawyer, an immigration judge has since said the government failed to prosecute the case. Video shows federal agents breaking the window of an SUV and forcing a man out of the vehicle while his wife and child were inside as the family was leaving church. Also on Tuesday, Waltham City Councilor Colleen Bradley-MacArthur shared video she recorded earlier this month showing a child left alone on the sidewalk on Fenton Street after ICE agents arrested someone he was walking with. "I couldn't believe that they would just leave someone there," she said. "The masks, right — that's so frightening to see masked men blocking the road, with the lights and the sirens." On Wednesday, Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin shared a statement about what happened, saying a parent that officers contacted declined to pick the child up, and the boy was allowed to walk home, which was nearby. “ICE officers conducted a vehicle stop and encountered an adult male drive and 12-year-old passenger—the adult was not the minor’s parent. The driver was an illegal alien and was taken into ICE custody. Officers helped the 12-year-old contact a parent. The parent was informed of the situation and the child’s location and declined to pick up their son. The parent confirmed that the residence was nearby and elected for the child to walk home within short walking distance,” the statement said. Waltham City Councilor Colleen Bradley-MacArthur said she recorded video of ICE agents leaving a child on a sidewalk after an arrest earlier this month. An incident last week in which a mother was detained by ICE and Worcester police arrested her teen daughter has sparked an outcry in that city. Tuesday evening, protesters descended on Worcester City Hall to demand greater action from elected officials to protect the immigrant community. Advocates have been trying to coordinate a community response to these encounters. "There is a concerted effort for people to not only know their rights, but to know how to identify threats in their community, and right now, they are systemically — they're violating what we know law and order to be," said former Waltham City Councilor Jonathan Paz. The frustration among those in the community is reaching a boiling point, where some of these actions are turning into clashes. "It's so upsetting, and it's evoking a lot of fear and anxiety in all of us," said Romina Paola. "We can't even live our own lives, working, providing for our families, without being in so much — honestly — terror." More on ICE