'Traumatic Time': Immigration Judge Orders MA High School Student's Release On Bond

MILFORD, MA — A Milford High School junior arrested on his way to volleyball practice this past weekend for being undocumented was ordered released on $2,000 bond by an immigration judge in a Chelmsford court on Thursday afternoon.

"I'm relieved that Marcelo will be returning home to his parents, siblings, classmates and the Milford community," Gov. Maura Healey said in a statement Thursday afternoon. "This has been such a traumatic time for this community, and I hope that they find some solace in knowing that the
rule of law and due process still prevail.

"Marcelo never should have been arrested or detained, and it certainly did not make us safer."

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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Todd Lyons defended the arrest and ongoing detention of the 18-year-old Milford High School student and school band member during a news conference on Monday to announce a month-long immigration crackdown that federal officials said led to nearly 1,500 arrests of those in the country illegally.

"We were looking for his father," Lyons said. "Obviously, he isn't Father of the Year because he brought his son up here illegally as well. ... I didn't say (Marcelo Gomes) was dangerous. I said he was in this country illegally. And we're not going to walk away from anybody."

Boston ICE Director Patricia Hyde said that while the high school junior was not the target of the traffic stop, he was arrested because "he's 18 years old" and "he's unlawfully in this country."

"Unfortunately, we had to go to Milford to look for someone else, and we came across him, and he was arrested," Hyde said.

Family members said Gomes has been in the United States since he was 5 years old and that his student visa had lapsed.

Milford High students staged a walkout from school on Monday, two days after a graduation ceremony at which Gomes was supposed to perform with the school band.

The volleyball team played a match in Gomes' honor to a capacity crowd on Tuesday night.

"It’s not okay 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," Healey said. "In Massachusetts, we are going to keep speaking out for what’s right and supporting one another in our communities."

The student's detention reignited the war of words between Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and federal immigration officials over "sanctuary cities" in recent days with Wu calling for a scale back of ICE activities in the city, as U.S. Attorney Leah Foley warned against any interference with ICE agents.

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Foley said during Monday's news conference that "we will not tolerate" actions that interfere with ICE and law enforcement operations related to immigration violations.

"What I have seen on the news and social media is concerning, to say the least," Foley said. "Agent safety is paramount. It is a felony to threaten or assault a federal agent. I want to be clear about that. No one is above the law. This is non-negotiable.

"The law in this area is clear, and I will not sit idly by and watch federal agents being threatened."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)