The contrast between ICE officers in camouflage fatigues and the “nice old ladies” protesting outside the immigrant detention center might have been comic if not for the guns and plastic wrist cuffs the officers carried and the violent confrontation between Newark Police and other demonstrators the night before.

Worcester City Hall closed to the public early Tuesday ahead of a planned protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Dozens of people protested at the same time as a City Council meeting was held virtually inside.