CHELMSFORD, Mass. (AP) — An immigration judge on Thursday granted bond to a Massachusetts high school student who was arrested on his way to volleyball practice last weekend.
Marcelo Gomes da Silva, 18, who came to the U.S. from Brazil at age 7, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents Saturday. Authorities have said the agents were looking for the Milford High School teenager’s father, who owns the car Gomes da Silva was driving at the time and had parked in a friend’s driveway.
“This kid is as clean as a whistle,” his lawyer, Robin Nice, told reporters after a hearing in Chelmsford. Gomes da Silva, who was expected to be released Thursday afternoon on $2,000 bond, appeared via video from elsewhere in Massachusetts.
She said Gomes da Silva slept on the cement floor of a room holding 25 to 35 men most of the time he was detained with no windows, no time outside and no permission to shower. He went to the hospital Wednesday because he had concerns about a concussion he received before he was detained and was suffering from a bad cold, Nice said.
“He’s looking forward to eating Snickers and chicken nuggets when he is released,” she said.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said earlier this week that ICE officers were targeting a “known public safety threat” and that Gomes da Silva’s father “has a habit of reckless driving at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour through residential areas.”
“While ICE officers never intended to apprehend Gomes da Silva, he was found to be in the United States illegally and subject to removal proceedings, so officers made the arrest,” she said in a statement.
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said Monday that “like any local law enforcement officer, if you encounter someone that has a warrant or … he’s here illegally, we will take action on it.”
Gomes da Silva initially entered the country on a visitor visa and was later issued a student visa that has since lapsed, Nice said. She described him as deeply rooted in his community and a dedicated member of both the school marching band and a band at his church.
The immigration judge set a placeholder hearing date for a couple of weeks from Thursday, but it might take place months from that, Nice said.
“We’re optimistic that he’ll have a future in the United States,” she said.
A federal judge considering Gomes da Silva’s request to be released while his immigration case proceeds has given the government until June 16 to respond and ordered that Gomes da Silva not be moved out of Massachusetts without 48 hours’ notice given to the court. The government sought permission Wednesday to move Gomes da Silva to a detention facility in a different New England state, Nice said. A judge quickly denied the request.
“I love my son. We need Marcelo back home. It’s no family without him,” João Paulo Gomes Pereira said in a video released Wednesday. “We love America. Please, bring my son back.”
The video showed the family in the teen’s bedroom. Gomes da Silva’s sister describes watching movies with her brother and enjoying food he cooks for her: “I miss everything about him.”
Students at Milford High staged a walkout Monday to protest his detainment. Other supporters wore white and packed the stands of the high school gymnasium Tuesday night, when the volleyball team dedicated a match to their missing teammate.
Hanna Ghannan, who graduated from the school the day after Gomes de Silva was detained, was among those cheering outside the courthouse as the news came that her classmate would be let out on bond.
“I’m just happy that everyone’s coming to together as a community because there is a lot of hate — and I mean a lot of hate,” she said.
Amani Jack, also a recent Milford High graduate, said her classmate’s absence loomed large over the graduation ceremony, where he was supposed to play in the band. She said if she had a chance to speak with the president, she’d ask him to ‘just put yourself in our shoes.’
“He did say he was going to deport criminals,” she said. “Marcelo is not a criminal. He’s a student. I really want him to take a step in our shoes, witnessing this. Try and understand how we feel. We’re just trying to graduate high school.”
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Associated Press reporter Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed to this story.
