WORCESTER, Mass. — Early on Election Day, Etel Haxhiaj pulled a campaign sign from the back seat of her car and found a spot on the sidewalk outside Blessed Sacrament Church, a polling place in Worcester, Massachusetts. A cold wind tugged at the sign in her hands, threatening to blow it away.

Haxhiaj, 45, was a two-term City Council member in the city. By that night, she would know the fate of her campaign for reelection. Voters would judge her handling of everyday municipal business, but many would also consider a thornier question: Should Haxhiaj have intervened in an immigration enforcement action on a street in her district?

The encounter in May — a chaotic confrontation among residents , city police officers and federal immigration agents — had grabbed national attention after v

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