Immigration officials say they intended to arrest father of Milford teen instead

Boston Globe

2 days ago

The so-called 'collateral arrest,' in which agents arrest immigrants in the country illegally even if they are not an intended target, was previously banned by the Biden administration, but reinstated under President Trump.
The arrest of Gomes sparked outrage and protest in Milford, as friends and family of the 18-year-old high school junior questioned why ICE would arrest a teenager who they said was a dedicated student athlete with no criminal record.
When asked why Gomes was arrested, Hyde said, 'I didn't say he was dangerous, I said he was here illegally.'
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Officials did not say why they wanted to arrest the father. Court records show the elder Gomes was was stopped for running a stop sign and driving without a license in July 2023, but the charges were dismissed on recommendation of the probation department the following November. He paid $100 court costs. No other court records were found.
Hyde blamed so-called 'sanctuary' jurisdictions for the number of collateral arrests in Massachusetts, saying agents would not have to go out searching in communities if local authorities would assist with removal operations.
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'When we go into the community and find others who are unlawfully here, we are going to arrest them,' Hyde said.
Hyde said Gomes remains in ICE custody, but did not specify which facility.
On Sunday, Gov. Maura Healey said she was 'disturbed and outraged' by the teen's detainment. The first-term Democrat, who served for eights years as the state's attorney general, said she supports ICE arresting those with criminal backgrounds, but said they've 'made mistakes' before.
'By their own admission, they have also arrested several hundreds of individuals in Massachusetts and taken them away who do not have criminal records,' she said. 'Everybody should be following the law here, following the rules here. ICE should be producing information about who has been arrested, what they've been charged with, what their circumstance was, and they should make that available to the public.'
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