ICE agents who detained Milford, Massachusetts student were looking for his father, feds say
The Milford, Massachusetts high school student who was detained by federal agents over the weekend on his way to volleyball practice was not the intended target, ICE said Monday. It was his father.
Marcelo Gomes, an 18-year-old junior at Milford High School, was driving to practice with three teammates Saturday morning when his car was pulled over by three unmarked vehicles. Gomes was taken into custody. His family said he's being held at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Burlington.
Marcelo Gomes
Gomes family photo
ICE target was Joao Paulo Gomes-Pereira
ICE didn't comment on the incident during the weekend, but issued a statement Monday afternoon that said, "The target of the operation was Joao Paulo Gomes-Pereira, an illegally present Brazilian alien."
ICE spokesman Mike Alvarez said officers spotted his car Saturday morning and stopped it "with the intention of apprehending Joao Paulo Gomes-Pereira."
"Officers identified the target's vehicle, and initiated a vehicle stop with the intention of apprehending Joao Paulo Gomes-Pereira. Upon conducting the vehicle stop, officers arrested Marcelo Gomes-Da Silva, an illegally present, 18-year-old Brazilian alien and the son of the intended target. Gomes-DaSilva was found to be in the United States illegally and subject to removal proceedings, so officers made the arrest. Gomes-DaSilva remains in ICE custody pending removal proceedings," Alavarez said.
Gomes-Pereira, 38, was not in custody as of Monday afternoon. Federal immigration authorities said he "has a habit of reckless driving at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour through residential areas endangering Massachusetts residents."
"I didn't say he was dangerous"
At a news conference in Boston Monday, acting ICE Director Todd Lyons was asked - what's the danger of an 18-year-old to that community?
"I'll put it back on you," he told reporters. "What about an 18-year-old that was stopped for a traffic violation by Mass. State Police who's wanted for being a habitual traffic offender on his way to graduation? Would you be asking that same question to the Mass. State Police for not arresting him? Like I didn't say he was dangerous, I said he's in this country illegally. We're not going to walk away from anybody."
"His dad hasn't turned himself in yet and his dad knows he's the target," Lyons said.
Milford Police Chief Robert Dusino said his department didn't learn about Marcelo Gomes's detention until after it happened Saturday.
Milford High School walkout for Marcelo Gomes
Several of Gomes's classmates at Milford High School walked out of classes Monday afternoon in support of Gomes. Many held signs, including one banner that said "Free Marcelo."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
China Urges US to Comply With ‘Hard-Won' Deal After London Talks
(Bloomberg) — China cheered a new framework to defuse trade tensions with the US after two days of intense negotiation, calling on both countries to adhere to the agreement and maintain dialogue to stabilize ties. Trump's Military Parade Has Washington Bracing for Tanks and Weaponry NY Long Island Rail Service Resumes After Grand Central Fire NYC Mayoral Candidates All Agree on Building More Housing. But Where? Senator Calls for Closing Troubled ICE Detention Facility in New Mexico California Pitches Emergency Loans for LA, Local Transit Systems 'As a next step, the two sides should follow the important consensus and requirements reached by the two heads of state on the phone call, further play a good role in the China-US economic and trade consultation mechanism,' Vice Premier He Lifeng said, according to a Wednesday statement published by state broadcaster China Central Television. The two sides should 'show the spirit of good faith in abiding by their commitments and jointly safeguard the hard-won results of the dialogue,' he added. The statement offered no details on the specifics of the framework. The agreement comes after two days of high-stakes trade talks in London that concluded Tuesday night. Both sides said they'd agreed on a framework for implementing the Geneva deal that would revive the flow of sensitive goods between the countries. Despite reaching a truce that suspended drastic tariffs last month, the world's two largest economies later accused each other of violating that accord. US officials said China was stalling exports of rare earth magnets crucial for auto and defense sectors, while Beijing protested Washington's move to impose new curbs on chip design software, jet engine parts and student visas. The latest statement represents a step toward de-escalating a tariff war that had led to a slump in bilateral trade. However, it made no reference to rare earth magnets or US export controls, which had both been a focal point of the talks and main source of tension going into negotiations. The US and Chinese delegations will take that proposal back to their respective leaders, China's trade envoy Li Chenggang told reporters after the talks concluded. New Grads Join Worst Entry-Level Job Market in Years The Spying Scandal Rocking the World of HR Software American Mid: Hampton Inn's Good-Enough Formula for World Domination Cavs Owner Dan Gilbert Wants to Donate His Billions—and Walk Again The SEC Pinned Its Hack on a Few Hapless Day Traders. The Full Story Is Far More Troubling ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. By subscribing, you are agreeing to Yahoo's Terms and Privacy Policy Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
USA Today
16 minutes ago
- USA Today
My hometown of LA has right to be angry as Trump sends in the Marines
My hometown of LA has right to be angry as Trump sends in the Marines | Opinion Even if you think the crackdown on illegal immigration is necessary, it is not conservative to crash through neighborhoods to round up people who have become part of the community. Show Caption Hide Caption LA protesters ignite Waymo taxis, see the remains Protesters vandalized and set Waymo autonomous taxis on fire amid anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles. My hometown of Los Angeles has witnessed an outpouring of intense, and to varying degrees violent, protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers who are engaged in detaining illegal/undocumented immigrants. The protests have precipitated a mobilization of the National Guard, and even the dispatching of a small contingent of Marines, as protesters collide with ICE and other law enforcement officers. The federal involvement signals an escalation in what has become the most striking episode of civil unrest in California since the summer of 2020. The alarmism surrounding Los Angeles is understandable. The fury over the immigration issue also is understandable. I am born and raised in LA. I'm generally conservative on the immigration question. But it is important for us to take a nuanced look at the outrage we are seeing in Los Angeles. Consequences of illegal immigration have hurt my community Undocumented/illegal immigration (take your pick) has had a damaging impact on certain communities in Los Angeles for many years. That impact has been most concentrated in Black communities, which have largely dissolved due to the overwhelming influx of immigrants, particularly from Latin America. Political marginalization, wage competition and the strains placed on public benefits and the public school system have outraged many members of Black Los Angeles. That was one of the primary issues in my congressional campaign against Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters in 2014, when Black activists in the district allied with the GOP largely because of concerns about immigration. Two years later, I went door-to-door in Los Angeles to recruit participants for a University of Southern California study on eye health in the Black community. At one point, I found myself speaking to an older Black woman who had a newspaper propped up on her sofa. Headlines declared the victory of newly elected President Donald Trump. 'Do you have a problem with my newspaper?' she asked, noting my glance toward it as we spoke in her living room. 'Well, if you do, then you can just get the hell on. I voted for this man and you know why? Because he is going to get rid of these damn illegals who are ruining our community.' Opinion: Waymo cars get torched by LA protesters, burning Google – an immigration ally Black Angelenos have been affected by violence, often in areas where law-abiding citizens already have to fear greater than normal rates of crime. The strain on public services also represents a financial burden on taxpayers. Other pressures placed on an already crowded city by increased numbers of immigrants stoke frustration. All these problems are real. People are right to call attention to them. But that's not all there is to the story. Illegal immigration is more nuanced than many believe The nuances occupy a couple of categories. There are benefits to undocumented immigration that accrue to the upper middle class and certain businesses. That much is clear, even if it's not a privilege that Americans living outside of Los Angeles' suburban middle class care to preserve for them. But cheaper services, domestic work, construction and automotive labor are things many people often benefit from by way of undocumented immigrants. It's become a way of life for much of Los Angeles' upper economic classes. When I say "way of life," I am referring to something deeper then the mere economic. I am talking about the culture of communities, the norms and relationships we grow accustomed to. This is the second category of nuanced reality people need to understand when observing Los Angeles in this moment. It's the nuances of community. Illegal immigrants and their families, including their children who've inherited birthright citizenship, are part of our community. They are the abuela with the tamale stand by the park, the mechanic you joke around with at the auto shop or the gardener who feels like an uncle. The kids I went to school with in Culver City, who were made citizens by virtue of a constitutional interpretation that I believe violates the 14th Amendment, were my friends. They were no less a part of my community for having undocumented parents. People who have lived their lives generally at peace with their undocumented neighbors and their families have stronger bonds with these immigrants than with the faceless ICE agents who burst into our neighborhoods to remove people we know. Opinion: What do Republicans value? My fellow conservatives need to fight the right way. Now, I have a great deal of sympathy for ICE agents as well. They are the spear tip of an effort to respond to the neglect of territorial sovereignty perpetrated by the U.S. government for generations. It is one of the great betrayals of American interests, in favor of politicians and corporations, that unchecked illegal immigration should have reached such a scale over such a period of time. I don't blame federal agents for doing their job or for believing in it. This doesn't change the fact that, in Los Angeles, ICE agents are the ones who look like aliens. Trump's deportation policy stands in the shadow of American history All of this highlights an irony in the Trump administration's approach to rectifying the immigration issue. As conservative as the principles of national sovereignty and rule of law are, conservatism also stands for the continuity of community, the respecting of norms, customs and relationships that give a place its character. These norms and relationships sometimes evolve in initially unlawful or tragic circumstances. American frontiersmen invaded Native American territory, even against the edicts of the U.S. government, at almost every turn in the early expansion of our nation. We can say that happened long ago, so it doesn't matter now. But would it be right to uproot families now because of the unlawful invasion of Native American territory generations ago? Many of those who are most incensed about the porousness of our border and the accommodations we make to the undocumented are also the most proud of our American founding and the frontier spirit of our heritage. There are differences of opinion with respect to the scope of deportations, even among those who advocate for a crackdown on illegal immigration. Some favor deporting only flagrant criminals; others want those who crossed the border recently to be returned to their home countries. Then there are some who favor deporting as many illegal immigrants as possible, regardless of their behavior and their contributions since arriving. For those who argue for mass deportation, how can we look at illegal immigrants as criminals without regarding in the same way our own ancestors who invaded Native Americans' territory and violently displaced the inhabitants? If the view is that our American ancestors, while worse than imperfect, laid by God's grace the foundation for communities that grew into a great nation, then isn't there a case to be made for charity and accommodation in dealing with most of our undocumented neighbors now? Of course, certain people make having empathy for the undocumented very hard. That includes not only those who wave Mexican flags in the face of legal authority while insisting on their "right" to remain in the nation illegally. It also includes their allies who take zero inventory of the damage done to communities and to the rule of law by policies that allow for mass illegal immigration. Still, when my best friend's first son was born, I remember his mother, an elderly woman who immigrated to the United States decades ago, approaching me at the celebration of her grandson's birth with a gift basket that held a Mexican flag and an American flag. She said to me: "Mi nieto es un Mexicano y un Americano tambien." ("My grandson is a Mexican and an American too.") Her point was that her family was proud of their heritage, but they were also proud to be a part of a nation and a community that she and I shared across the gulf of language and legal status. LA has a right to be angry. But we need a better answer. Personally, I might aggressively shut the border, and build a wall if it actually helped, because I believe that we blew past a reasonable volume of immigration a long time ago. It's a good thing that Trump has essentially frightened the world into no longer trying to cross our border illegally. That had to end. Democratic politicians like California Gov. Gavin Newsom have invited the pendulum swing on immigration by pushing it so far the other way. Now, Trump, never one to be concerned with proportionality, threatens to escalate tensions further in the name of rule of law. Yet, even if you think the crackdown on illegal immigration is necessary, it is not conservative to crash through neighborhoods to round up people who have become part of the community. America must understand that Los Angeles is not Omaha, not Savannah and not Des Moines. Los Angeles has a right to be angry. Los Angeles has a right to be LA. There should be a better way. Sadly, it seems like nobody is looking for one. John Wood Jr. is a columnist for USA TODAY Opinion. He is national ambassador for Braver Angels, a former nominee for Congress, former vice chairman of the Republican Party of Los Angeles County, musical artist, and a noted writer and speaker on subjects including racial and political reconciliation. Follow him on X: @JohnRWoodJr
UPI
19 minutes ago
- UPI
Posse comitatus, or America beware
Protestors face off with Los Angeles County Sheriff deputies during a protest against ICE and immigration raids in Paramount, Calif., earlier this week. President Donald Trump's federalizing of the California National Guard and the ordering of a battalion from the 7th Marine Regiment at Twentynine Palms to Los Angeles against the explicit refusal of Gov. Gavin Newsom to accept assistance brings a term into focus: posse comitatus. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo June 10 (UPI) -- For good or ill reasons, few Americans are aware of the Latin phrase posse comitatus and what it means. President Donald Trump's federalizing the California National Guard and ordering a battalion from the 7th Marine Regiment at Twentynine Palms to Los Angeles against the explicit refusal of Gov. Gavin Newsom to accept assistance brings the term into focus. It means organizing a group to confront lawlessness. In 1878, responding to the abuses of the Union Army in law enforcement after the Civil War and Reconstruction, the Posse Comitatus Act was signed by President Rutherford Hayes. In part, that law read: "From and after the passage of this act it shall not be lawful to employ any part of the Army of the United States, as a posse comitatus, or otherwise, for the purpose of executing the laws, except in such cases and under such circumstances as such employment of said force need the expressly authorized by the Constitution or by act of Congress." The law was amended in the Patriot Act to expand the use of the military but not regarding law-enforcement roles. That requires the president to invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807 that, in part, grants the president the authority to deploy the U.S. military and federalize the National Guard to suppress insurrections, rebellions or civil disorder within the United States. The last time the Insurrection Act was used to authorize the use of federal troops was in 1992 when President George H. W. Bush responded to the riots in Los Angeles after the Rodney King verdict was delivered acquiting the four LA police officers of murder. The recent LA riots broke out over Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials arresting and detaining people accused of illegally entering the United States. A great majority of Americans -- 80-90% -- agree on deporting undocumented migrants with criminal records and who are dangers to the community. An equal number of Americans oppose deporting those people here illegally who are now part of the community and -- rather than being threats -- contribute to society. But the politics of immigration and the profound disagreements between the two political parties, not the riots, is the issue. In that regard, both Trump and Newsom are responding accordingly to their bases. However, make no mistake: The Trump-Newsom dispute, including a lawsuit filed against the government for federalizing the National Guard, is a symptom and sign of the dreadful state of American politics. Trump may have been very clever playing to his base that favors "peace through strength" abroad and at home. Both the Guard and Marines have been assigned to protect federal buildings, installations and employees not, repeat not, to conduct law-enforcement tasks. Yet, that has not been widely advertised to allow most Americans to believe that the military will have a wider use. And Trump has not authorized the Insurrection Act to that end. Newsom and Trump are using this crisis to make opposite points when the reality is different. Had this been a Republican-controlled state, whether Trump would have reacted or not is debatable. However, it is entirely reasonable that any president would be committed to protecting federal assets. Had Trump made this argument clear from the beginning, Newsom's response might have been different. But that would have defused the crisis, ironically, in neither of their interests. Tragically, politics demand exploiting these riots for clearly political and not security or public safety reasons. Trump was arguing that the law was on his side in deporting undesirable undocumented migrants. Newsom was asserting that the governor should be consulted first; that federal forces were not needed; and the president was using this to advance his agenda. As Inspector Renault in the movie Casablanca famously remarked, "Gambling at Rick's. I'm shocked!" In these circumstances when rationality and common sense are missing in action, immigration poses an impossible dilemma: what to do with millions who have integrated into U.S. society yet have broken the law in entering the United States illegally? A tragedy can be seen as a clash to two justified views. These people broke the law. That cannot be ignored. Yet the vast majority of these individuals are now part of the U.S. polity. The future is self-evident. This dilemma will only worsen as will virtually all political issues on which the nation is divided. In these incendiary conditions, if the Insurrection Act were wrongly invoked, the effect will likely provoke the rebellion it is meant to prevent. So beware America. Harlan Ullman is UPI's Arnaud de Borchgrave Distinguished Columnist; senior adviser at Washington's Atlantic Council, chairman of a private company, and principal author of the doctrine of shock and awe. His next book, co-written with General The Lord David Richards, former U.K. chief of defense and due out next year, is Who Thinks Wins: Preventing Strategic Catastrophe. The writer can be reached on X @harlankullman.
