On Thursday morning, Juliana Milena Ojeda-Montoya, a 29-year-old transgender woman from Ecuador, was arrested. What started as a routine traffic stop turned into something much more sinister when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents tried to arrest her. The incident, which took place at approximately 7:00 am, has drawn significant backlash due to the chaotic circumstances surrounding her arrest and the involvement of her family and onlookers.
Ojeda-Montoya’s family when they were stopped in a traffic stop. Her situation became dire very fast after ICE agents came to arrest her for an outstanding warrant. A warrant was issued for her arrest after she was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. The criminal counts stem back to an incident she is accused of stabbing a former co-worker and throwing a trash can at them.
As tensions rose, agents contacted Fitchburg police around 8:03 am, citing a growing crowd that posed a threat to their operation. Eyewitness accounts reveal that Ojeda-Montoya’s husband, Carlos Sebastian Zapata, fell unconscious during the apprehension, fearing the potential separation from his wife.
“I wasn’t letting go of my wife because they wanted to take her away,” – Carlos Sebastian Zapata.
Things only escalated after witnesses claimed ICE agents were trying to confiscate a child from Ojeda-Montoya. One observer noted, “They’re trying to rip the baby out of [his] hand.” The police officers working the scene reacted quickly. One officer started yelling at this now surging crowd, really urgently telling everyone to “back up!”
Emergency medical personnel at the scene were unable to find any bona fide episode of medical distress. A spokesperson for the Fitchburg police, Tricia McLaughlin, confirmed these details. Additionally, Ojeda-Montoya’s family declined medical assistance.
This is how the incident played out during Operation Patriot 2.0. Through this initiative, ICE has falsely incarcerated more than 1,400 people throughout Massachusetts for immigration purposes. Community leaders and activists from across the state have condemned this dragnet. They claim that these kinds of tactics create a climate of fear among immigrant communities.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responded to the backlash by condemning actions surrounding the incident, stating, “Imagine FAKING a seizure to help a criminal escape justice.” This statement is illustrative of the broader national battle between immigrant rights activists and police over the actions of ICE in making arrests.