Community prepared to act in crisis

Two months after becoming a "sanctuary city" last June, Chelsea was the site of two federal raids on illegal immigrants accused of criminal activity in connection with a street gang and three identity fraud rings.

Local advocates for immigrants, despite their support for raids against criminals, argued that federal officials chose Chelsea to send a message against sanctuary cities, even though US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, officials stated that both raids were part of ongoing investigations.

Now the social justice organization Chelsea Collaborative and its executive director Gladys Vega hope to send a message of their own by creating a "humanitarian crisis plan."

"A sanctuary city is something that's very, very symbolic. What's not symbolic is the power of the people," Vega told a standing-room-only group of mostly Spanish-speaking residents last Monday who gathered at Bunker Hill Community College's Chelsea campus for a presentation of the crisis plan.

The plan, also created in response to a federal immigration raid in a New Bedford leather goods factory last March that led to the arrest of more than 300 workers, revolves around a response team for humanitarian crises, such as large fires or natural disasters, but mainly in the case of an immigration raid. The team consists of eight groups that would mobilize, depending on the crisis. The groups include a legal team, financial management, social services, shelter, donations, evacuations, political action group, and one in charge of media communications.

Although City Manager Jay Ash, who attended the meeting, offered suggestions and input on the plan draft, he was careful to say that the initiative is community-based and not an official act by the city. Ash stopped short of stating he endorses the plan, saying he has not "signed off" on it, but that he endorses the concept.

"It's a significant step forward in making sure that the community - and I mean the community, not the city - is able to respond to a crisis," Ash said in an interview. "The members of the community that have advocated for immigrant rights continually talk to us about their concerns in the way that ICE operations take place. I have not shared all of those concerns. Certainly I believe ICE has been more than responsible seeking the deportation of criminals and gang members locally."

Chelsea police Captain Brian Kyes, who is to become police chief Nov. 8, attended the meeting and called the plan "an excellent idea" that will help quell rumors that permeate the community when federal officials are in town. In August, when ICE enforcement officials arrested 27 Brazilian nationals connected to three identity-fraud rings in the parking lot of a Chelsea supermarket, Kyes said some residents panicked after hearing rumors that immigration officials were rounding up anyone who entered the supermarket.

Because of those rumors, Kyes said the Police Department recently reached out to ICE officials, who agreed to form a liaison with Chelsea police and community organizations to discuss their priorities, mission, and criminal alien focuses, but not the specifics of any operation or enforcement action.

"We agreed to work with the Chelsea Police Department to address and answer any community concerns, specifically regarding ICE enforcement actions," said Paula Grenier, spokeswoman for ICE in Boston. "That could be anything from our priorities to our mission, the job we do, the type of criminals we're arresting. We won't publicly discuss any activity of ongoing investigations or whether there are any investigations planned."

Kyes said in an interview that on the surface he doesn't see any conflicts between the humanitarian crisis plan's mission and that of the Police Department.

He said he also hopes Chelsea residents are able to differentiate the roles of federal immigration enforcement officers and Chelsea police.

Immigration advocates argued that the recent raids in Chelsea sparked fear in the community that could deter undocumented residents from calling the police if they are victims of crimes.

"We won't round up people. We don't have the authority to do that and that's not what we want to do," Kyes said. "ICE always has specific targets when they come to Chelsea - those wanted on warrants for felonies, reentries of those previously deported, and those involved in the sale of illegal documents."

After a PowerPoint presentation given in Spanish at the meeting, residents and immigration activists praised the Collaborative's efforts and focused their questions on how the plan would work in the event of a New Bedford-style raid in Chelsea.

"Perhaps we won't see a New Bedford tomorrow with 300 people, but we'll see it in parts," Patricia Montes, a member of the Latin American immigrant nonprofit organization, Centro Presente, said at the meeting. "What is the message that we're going to send?"

Vega said that the next steps for the plan will be to gather more volunteers, tighten up the evacuation procedures, put together role play or drill simulations, and post details of the finalized plan on the local cable channel and newspapers.

Katheleen Conti can be reached at kconti@globe.com.