Family members of Massachusetts teen detained by ICE plead for his release
The family of an 18-year-old Massachusetts high school student who state officials say was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents while on his way to volleyball practice pleaded for his release on Wednesday.
Marcelo Gomes da Silva, a Brazilian national who is a junior at Milford Public High School, was arrested on Saturday, according to a court filing from his attorney.
In a video released by his attorney on Wednesday, filmed in the teen's bedroom, his mother, father and two younger siblings said they miss Gomes da Silva and asked ICE to release him.
"I love you, my son," his father, Joao Paulo Gomes Pereira, said in the video. "We need Marcelo back home. It's no family without him."
"We love America. Please bring my son back," he added.
Gomes da Silva's brother said he wants to give the teen "a really big hug," while his sister said she misses "everything about him," including when he would make her ramen and chicken nuggets.
"I just really miss him and I hope he comes back soon," she said.
A drum set could be seen in the room of the teen, who is a member of the high school band and plays drums for his girlfriend's church.
Gomes da Silva was not the target of the operation, ICE officials said. Rather, his father was sought because he "has a habit of reckless driving" at speeds over 100 mph, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Agents made a traffic stop on the father's vehicle, which Gomes da Silva was driving at the time of his arrest, according to acting ICE Director Todd Lyons.
"When we go out into the community and we find others who are unlawfully here, we are going to arrest them," ICE acting Field Director Patricia Hyde said at a press briefing on Monday. "We've been completely transparent with that. He's 18 years old. He's unlawfully in this country."
Gomes da Silva entered the U.S. in 2012 and was on a student visa that has since lapsed, according to his attorney. He has no criminal history and is "eligible for and intends to apply for asylum," his attorney stated in a habeas corpus petition filed Sunday seeking his release.
A federal judge issued an emergency order Sunday afternoon directing the government not to remove Gomes da Silva from the U.S. or to transfer him out of the judicial district of Massachusetts for at least 72 hours. On Monday, a federal judge ordered that the government not transfer the teen out of Massachusetts without first providing the court at least 48 hours' advance notice of and reasons for the move. The government was given 14 days to respond.
The ICE detainee locator website lists Gomes da Silva as being in custody, but does not list where he is being held. His habeas petition indicates "on information and belief" that ICE is detaining him at a field office in Burlington, Massachusetts.
Protests over the teen's detainment broke out this week in front of the Milford Town Hall and the Milford Public High School, with demonstrators holding signs that said "Free Marcelo."
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said she is "demanding immediate answers from ICE" about the teen's arrest, where he is being held and "how his due process is being protected." She said Gomes da Silva has lived in Milford since he was 5 years old and described him as a "star student."
"Marcelo belongs in school, not in a detention center. He belongs with his friends, his teammates," she said in a video released on social media Tuesday. "I stand with the Milford community in calling for Marcelo's release."
