SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
marcelo gomes da silva
Federal Judge Orders Release of Massachusetts Teen in ICE Detention
"It's not OK that students across the state are fearful of going to school or sports practice, and that parents have to question whether their children will come home at the end of the day," said Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey.
Jun 05, 2025
After staging a school walkout and paying tribute to their detained classmate earlier this week, high school students gathered in Chelmsford, Massachusetts on Thursday to demand the release of Marcelo Gomes da Silva from an immigration detention facility—and were overjoyed when they learned a judge had ordered the 18-year-old to be released on bond.
Community members chanted Gomes da Silva's name after learning he would be released.
They also displayed signed reading, "ICE Out of Schools," referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency that detained Gomes da Silva earlier this week.
Gomes da Silva's hometown of Milford erupted in fury at the news of his arrest, which occurred when he was stopped on his way to volleyball practice. Authorities have said they were looking for Gomes da Silva's father, who owns the car the student was driving and who Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin claimed "has a habit of reckless driving."
The student's team dedicated a match to Gomes da Silva on Tuesday night, and supporters wore white to the game to honor him.
Gomes da Silva appeared via video at the immigration court on Thursday from an ICE facility in nearby Burlington.
"If you're detained here at the Burlington ICE facility, you do not see the light of day," his attorney, Robin Nice, said at the hearing. "You don't know what time it is. There's no TV. He asked for a Bible. He was not given a Bible. It is complete isolation."
Nice said the 18-year-old has been sleeping on a cement floor since being taken to the facility.
Gomes da Silva has been in the U.S. since he was 7 years old, having entered the country from his home country of Brazil on a visitor visa. He was later issued a student visa that has since lapsed, his lawyer told reporters.
The government sought permission from a federal judge on Wednesday to move Gomes da Silva to an out-of-state detention facility, which the judge rejected.
Gomes da Silva's immigration case is proceeding following his release on $2,000 bail.
The immigration judge set "a placeholder hearing date for a couple of weeks from Thursday," The Associated Press reported.
"We're optimistic that he'll have a future in the United States," said Nice.
Democratic Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey expressed relief at the news that Gomes da Silva was being released.
"Marcelo never should have been arrested or detained, and it certainly did not make us safer," said Healey. "It's not OK that students across the state are fearful of going to school or sports practice, and that parents have to question whether their children will come home at the end of the day. In Massachusetts, we are going to keep speaking out for what's right and supporting one another in our communities."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Fury in Massachusetts Town After ICE Arrest of High School Student
"Putting high school students in shackles does not make anyone safer."
Jun 02, 2025
The arrest of 18-year-old Marcelo Gomes Da Silva by federal immigration agents sparked outrage in the town of Milford, Massachusetts over the weekend, with community members rallying on Sunday to demand the high school student's immediate release after he was detained while on his way to volleyball practice.
Gomes was born in Brazil but has been in the U.S. since he was 6 years old and has two younger siblings, both of whom are American citizens. According to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement database, Gomes is being held in a Burlington, Massachusetts detention facility.
His arrest cast a dark shadow over Milford High School's commencement ceremony on Sunday, with principal Joshua Otlin saying during his address, "We cannot and will not pretend that all is well at Milford High School this morning."
"It is not," he added.
The Boston Globereported that shortly before noon on Sunday, "demonstrators—from parents with young children to retired teachers—began to gather in front of Milford Town Hall."
"Many were Milford residents, outraged that a teenager who'd grown up in their town had been detained," the Globe reported. "Others were supporters and advocates from surrounding communities. Teachers, administrators, and athletic staff from Milford schools joined the rally. Soon, rows of demonstrators stretched for a block on both sides of the street adjacent to Town Hall. Shortly before 1 pm, the numbers swelled as students, some still donning their scarlet red graduation robes, descended upon Town Hall from commencement."
Democratic State Rep. Becca Rausch, one of the lawmakers who attended Sunday's rally, ripped ICE's conduct and said that "putting high school students in shackles does not make anyone safer."
"The Trump administration continues to create fear in our communities, and it's making us all less safe."
The arrest came amid a recent flurry of ICE arrests in Massachusetts and across the country. On Monday, U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) is set to convene a press conference and roundtable to discuss "an uptick in ICE activity across the Massachusetts 7th Congressional District and the Commonwealth, including a series of harrowing incidents in East Boston, Chelsea, Everett, and other predominantly immigrant communities."
In a statement Sunday, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said she was "disturbed and outraged by reports that a Milford High School student was arrested by ICE on his way to volleyball practice yesterday."
"Yet again, local officials and law enforcement have been left in the dark with no heads up and no answers to their questions. I'm demanding that ICE provide immediate information about why he was arrested, where he is, and how his due process is being protected," said Healey. "My heart goes out to the Milford community on what was supposed to be a celebratory graduation day. The Trump administration continues to create fear in our communities, and it's making us all less safe."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular