Councilor Khrystian King Urges Oversight and Preparedness Following ICE Arrest on Eureka Street

Mayoral candidate and current city councilor Khrystian King calls for audits, discretion in policing, and stronger protections for Worcester’s immigrant community.

By Hank Stolz | Radio Worcester

(Photo-Adobe Stock/Google Earth)

WORCESTER, Mass.- Following a controversial ICE operation on Eureka Street, Worcester City Councilor and mayoral candidate Khrystian King calls for a thorough review of local law enforcement procedures and greater protections for the city’s immigrant communities.

“What happened on Eureka Street is that Donald Trump moved on the residents and constituents of the city of Worcester,” King said in a live interview on Talk of the Commonwealth with Hank Stolz. Referring to masked federal officers involved in the arrest, King said, “They report to be ICE operatives—we don’t really know what agency they were from—[but they] show up looking like they were wearing Proud Boy uniforms with masks, face covered.”

The operation involved two young women and a baby, an image that has ignited fear and anger across the city. King called the scene “traumatic,” suggesting it was “intended by the federal government to cause social unrest and anxiety.”

He stressed that local law enforcement’s response was consistent with its training but said the issue lies in the exercise of discretion. “Just because you have the capacity to do something doesn’t mean you have to or you should,” he said. “There’s discretion.”

King expressed concern over what he called “trumped-up charges,” saying that the nature of those charges—especially when involving immigrants—can have serious legal and personal consequences. “We really have to take steps to outline what the parameters are as it relates to these ICE operations,” he said. “Why? Because there’s liability issues. Not just for individual law enforcement but also for the city of Worcester.”

A longtime social worker with extensive experience in trauma response and co-response with the Worcester Police Department, King repeatedly emphasized the need for clinical support in such situations. “Where was the social worker? Where was the clinical response here?” he asked. “There’s different lenses. You had, again, a young girl, a minor, who was distraught, who was chasing her mother in her car.”

King said the city must prepare to respond with a broader range of resources. “We’re supposed to have established a co-response deployment strategy and operations,” he said. “And again, that’s part of what that pilot was supposed to be doing.”

King has also called for a full audit of that social work pilot program, funded by ARPA. “We haven’t had a report back,” he said, noting that he has called for audits across city departments, including DPW, overtime expenditures, and body camera deployment consistency.

When asked about the role of Councilor Etel Haxhiaj—criticized by the Worcester Police Union for her presence at the protest—King responded with support. “She rose to the moment, not for politics but for principle,” he said. “She acted urgently to defend a fellow mother, a woman in crisis, a young teen, and constituents that she was elected to serve.”

Regarding federal warnings against interference with ICE, King noted, “We have to make sure that all city resources are activated during ICE operations. That includes a co-deployment of social workers.”

King also addressed criticism of the city’s decision to hold the most recent City Council meeting remotely, a move made in response to threats against city officials. “We can’t send a message that that’s going to impact how we do business in the city, that that’s going to impact public participation and access,” he said. “Next week, there’s another threat—what are we going to do? Go remote forever?”

King said he was at City Hall during the meeting and that his family, including his eight-year-old child, has felt the weight of the threats. “The hardest part of this is keeping your family safe,” he quoted his daughter.

While he acknowledged that some enhanced safety measures may be warranted, King rejected certain proposals outright. “I’ve heard some of this stuff about you got to sign in, you got to show your ID. That’s prohibitive,” he said, warning that it could intimidate residents. “I just want to pay a bill.”

As the city continues to grapple with the fallout, King encouraged residents to prepare. “Folks should encourage people… to make individual family preparedness plans,” he said. “A lot of these folks are in process of attaining their permanent immigration status.”

At the conclusion of the interview, King reminded listeners of his campaign for mayor. “Our campaign is absolutely crescendoing,” he said. “We can’t have weak leadership during these times.”

This article was sourced from a transcript of a recent interview conducted by Hank Stolz on the Radio Worcester program Talk of the Commonwealth. It is provided for the convenience of our website users who prefer to read rather than listen.