Chelsea Public Schools sent families a letter telling them that immigration agents had been reported in the city, Telemundo Nueva Inglaterra reported late Wednesday. A School Committee member told the station that agents have not come to any Chelsea school.
The station’s report, published Wednesday night, November 4, said a representative of the school district confirmed the notice to parents and guardians. It quoted School Committee member Mayra Balderas, who said the superintendent’s letter told families that agents were present in Chelsea and did not say they were at the schools. Balderas told the station the purpose was to ask people to take some care while moving around the city or picking up their children, and that the district has a protocol in place.
The superintendent of Chelsea Public Schools is Dr. Almi G. Abeyta.
What the report says about other communities
Telemundo reported that local activists said they had recorded cell phone video and detected U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel in recent hours in Everett, East Boston, Revere, Malden, Chelsea, Winthrop and Melrose. The station described the operations as alleged.
Lucy Pineda, identified by the station as a pro-immigrant activist, said two people were arrested at the Chelsea courthouse on Tuesday, November 3, which was Election Day. That account is hers. The report carried no statement from ICE, and it gave no names, charges or other details about the two people.
Community organizations quoted in the report asked residents to stay alert and to keep in contact with their support networks.
What is not in the record
- The text of the superintendent’s letter. It was not on the district’s website or its Facebook page as of Thursday afternoon, so the day it went out and its exact wording are not confirmed here.
- Any statement from ICE or the Department of Homeland Security about activity in Chelsea this week.
- How many people, if any, were detained in Chelsea, and where.
Background
Chelsea District Court was the scene of an earlier immigration stop that is now in federal court. In October, a Chelsea mother sued the United States over an ICE stop outside the courthouse; our report on that complaint is here.
Families with questions about the district’s notice can call their child’s school or the superintendent’s office. This story will be updated when the letter or an official statement is available.