A woman at the center of a viral video in which neighbors in Worcester, Massachusetts, banded together in an attempt to thwart an operation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to detain a family has launched a fundraiser.
Writing on GoFundMe, Augusta Clara, who is believed to be of Brazilian descent, says that she is the mother seen in the now-viral video recorded on the morning of Thursday, May 8, on Eureka Street in the New England city.
Explaining the background to the chaotic events that unfolded that day, she writes: “Everything began the day before, when ICE arrested my partner — the father of my 3-month-old son — while he was driving to work.”
“He had committed no crime. His only ‘mistake’ was honking at a car that had cut him off. That vehicle turned out to be an undercover ICE car, and agents decided to arrest him,” she says.
“The next morning, ICE came to my home, demanding I return my partner’s car and report to sign immigration paperwork. I left my house with my 17-year-old sister and my baby, intending to comply. That’s when ICE stopped my car and told me I was under arrest. Since I was with my baby, I called my mother to come take my son,” Clara continues.
“When she arrived, ICE agents tried to arrest her too. Then they violently pinned my sister to the ground — as seen in the viral video — and arrested both her and my mother. They even tried to take my baby from me, but thanks to neighbors who recorded and protested, they backed down.”
Clara adds: “Now I am living in fear. I’m staying with friends, unable to return home or retrieve any of my belongings or my baby’s things. I cannot work, and I’m struggling to survive.”
Asking for support from donors, she says proceeds will go toward basic needs like food, clothes, shelter, legal fees, bail, and other urgent expenses.
As of 9 p.m. ET on May 15, the GoFundMe had raised $3,320.
The dramatic video footage, which has since gone viral online, was captured by a witness at the scene and shows a woman clinging to an infant child as ICE agents attempt to arrest her.
A swarm of 25 locals gathered, with one heard demanding to see identification and a warrant and calling to stop the chaos. “We don’t have to show you anything,” an ICE agent reportedly told the crowd.
Immigration officials called upon officers from the Worcester police for backup, with the department describing in a statement how the “unruly” crowd “put their hands on federal agents and Worcester officers.”
In the chaos that ensued, Clara’s sister was chased and restrained, and her “face was slammed into the ground,” NBC Boston noted.
Among those arrested was Worcester School Committee candidate Ashley Spring, who is accused of throwing an “unknown liquid” at officers. Her charges include assault and battery on a police officer.
Worcester City Councilor Etel Haxhiaj was one of the residents who, she said, formed a “human ring” around the detainees.
“As an elected official, it is my obligation to stand up for my constituents,” she said in a statement. “The way immigrants in Worcester and across the Commonwealth are being targeted and terrorized by this federal administration for deportation is absolutely unconstitutional.”
“What kind of person takes a mother away from her family?” another neighbor questioned. “Everyone is fed up! It’s disgusting seeing ICE across the country tearing families apart.”
City Manager Eric Batista wrote in a statement that the events were “disturbing” and “harrowing,” but said that police officers were there to uphold peace and not to assist ICE with detainments.
Meanwhile, Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty called the altercation “devastating.”
Local government officials said that they had not been told about the ICE operation beforehand.
