Massachusetts Governor Demands Answers After ICE Arrests Milford High School Student

MILFORD, MA — Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey expressed outrage and demanded immediate answers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following the arrest of an 18-year-old Milford High School student on Saturday, June 1, 2025. The student, identified by family and friends as Marcelo Gomes Da Silva, was detained by ICE agents while heading to volleyball practice, prompting widespread concern and protests from the Milford community.

In a statement posted to social media on Sunday, Governor Healey said, “I’m 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.” She insisted that ICE provide immediate information regarding the reason for the arrest, the student’s current location, and how his due process rights are being protected. Healey also criticized the Trump administration, stating, “The Trump Administration continues to create fear in our communities, and it’s making us all less safe.”

The incident occurred off-campus, according to Milford Public Schools Superintendent Kevin McIntyre, who confirmed the detention in a statement to WCVB on Saturday. McIntyre noted that the arrest was part of a recent wave of ICE apprehensions in the southern Massachusetts community, with several parents also detained in recent weeks. “We are all distraught by this news,” McIntyre said, emphasizing that the district plays no role in immigration enforcement and remains committed to supporting all students and families, including immigrants. “They are members of the community, students in our classrooms, athletes that compete representing Milford, musicians, artists, friends, and neighbors,” he added.

Marcelo Gomes Da Silva, a junior at Milford High School, has lived in the U.S. since the age of five or six, according to family and friends. He is described as an honors student, a member of the school band, a player on the boys’ volleyball team, and a coaching assistant for the girls’ volleyball team. His cousin, Ana Julia Araujo, told WCVB, “To just separate him from everybody he knows — like his whole life, just because he wasn’t born here — it’s not right.” Araujo added that Gomes is currently being held at an ICE detention center in Burlington, though ICE has not officially confirmed his location or the reasons for his detention.

The arrest sparked a strong community response, with hundreds gathering for a protest outside Milford Town Hall on Sunday, June 1, 2025, following the high school’s graduation ceremony. Over 1,000 demonstrators, including recent graduates in caps and gowns, lined Main Street, chanting “Free Marcelo” and holding signs reading “Due Process,” “He Belongs Here,” and “Education Not Deportation.” More than 200 educators from the Milford Teachers Association joined the rally, condemning the arrest as an “act of cruelty.” Union President Nick Molinari stated, “This student should have been at a volleyball practice with his teammates. Instead, ICE agents targeted one of our students in a deliberate act of cruelty, traumatizing his family, friends, and peers.”

Milford Police Chief Robert Tusino confirmed that his department was not informed of the ICE operation and learned of the arrest through the school district. “We want an open dialogue with the federal government about who is getting detained, why they’re getting detained,” Tusino told CBS Boston, emphasizing that the arrest did not appear to be related to public safety concerns. “If I don’t know you, my officers don’t know you, there’s a reason we don’t know you. It’s because you’re probably not a troublemaker.”

U.S. Representative Jake Auchincloss, a Democrat representing Milford, attended the protest and highlighted Gomes’ contributions to the community, noting on X that the student was “enrolled in honors classes, a coaching assistant for girls volleyball [and] player for boys volleyball, and a member of the school band.” Auchincloss criticized the administration’s priorities, stating, “This administration has its public safety priorities backwards. It pardons cop-beaters from Jan. 6 but detains high-school volleyball players.”

Attempts to reach ICE for comment on the specifics of Gomes’ arrest have been unsuccessful, and the agency has not released a public statement addressing the incident. The detention comes amid a reported uptick in immigration enforcement actions across Massachusetts, including arrests on Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, and in North Plymouth in recent weeks, heightening local concerns about transparency and community safety.

Governor Healey expressed sympathy for the Milford community, stating, “My heart goes out to the Milford community on what was supposed to be a celebratory graduation day.” As the situation unfolds, the community continues to rally for answers and for the release of Marcelo Gomes Da Silva, demanding clarity and justice in the face of uncertainty.

17GEN4.com

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