Massachusetts high schooler detained by ICE speaks out following release
Marcelo Gomes da Silva, the 18-year-old Massachusetts high school student who was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on his way to volleyball practice last week, said following his release that he wants to help those still detained in the facility where he was held for nearly a week.
"I would have to watch people cry, people with kids," the teen said during a press briefing in Burlington, Massachusetts, on Thursday after a judge granted him bond. "No one deserves to be down there."
Gomes da Silva, a Brazilian national who is a junior at Milford Public High School, was arrested on Saturday, according to a court filing from his attorney. He said he wasn't able to shower for six days and would sleep on a concrete floor while being held at a facility in Burlington.
The teen said he would share his limited food with the other men detained and often acted as their translator because he speaks English, Portuguese and Spanish.
"At the end of the day, this place -- it's not a good spot to be," he said.
Gomes da Silva said he would pray and talk to the other inmates about the Bible.
"The only thing I could do is thank God every day," he said.
MORE: Massachusetts high schooler detained by ICE on way to volleyball practice granted bond by judge
Gomes da Silva's arrest sparked an outcry from Massachusetts officials and the Milford community where he has lived since he came to the United States in 2012 at the age of 6. He said he never saw the public support while he was detained and is grateful for it.
"We don't have TVs in there," he said. "We don't get to see the daylight."
Gomes da Silva, who was driving his father's car at the time of his arrest, was pulled over and detained even though the father was the target of the operation. The father, Joao Paulo Gomes-Pereira, was sought because he "has a habit of reckless driving" at speeds over 100 mph, according to the Department of Homeland Security. He has not been detained.
"I heard a lot of people talk bad about my dad, but if you want to talk bad about my dad, then you have to talk bad about me, because he raised me," Gomes da Silva said. "He doesn't deserve any hate, because I was raised from him."
Gomes da Silva said his dad would cry on their calls and "has never done anything wrong."
"I don't want anyone to touch my dad," he said.
"My dad's everything to me," he added.
Gomes da Silva was granted $2,000 bond on Thursday after an immigration judge found he is not a danger to the community.
Following his release, he said he went to McDonald's and had French fries, chicken nuggets and a Coke. He said he was looking forward to hugging his parents, sister, brother and dog, a mini-poodle. He was greeted by his siblings, parents and classmates once he returned home Thursday evening.
Gomes da Silva said he's "optimistic" about his future and wants to help the other men detained.
"My dad always taught me to be humble and to put other people first," he said. "I want to do whatever I can to get them as much help as possible."
MORE: Family members of Massachusetts teen detained by ICE plead for his release
Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton said he and fellow Rep. Jake Auchincloss planned to inspect the Burlington facility where the teen was held.
"This administration is not keeping us safe by keeping 18-year-old honor students in prison," Moulton said at the press briefing. "What we see here today -- it's not American. It doesn't represent our values."
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, who had called for the teen's release following his arrest, said in a statement that she is "relieved that Marcelo will be returning home to his parents, siblings, classmates and the Milford community."
"Marcelo never should have been arrested or detained, and it certainly did not make us safer," she said. "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. In Massachusetts, we are going to keep speaking out for what's right and supporting one another in our communities."
Gomes da Silva entered the U.S. in 2012 and was on a student visa that has since lapsed, according to his attorney. He has no criminal history and is "eligible for and intends to apply for asylum," his attorney stated in a habeas corpus petition filed Sunday seeking his release.
A federal judge issued an emergency order Sunday afternoon directing the government not to remove Gomes da Silva from the U.S. or to transfer him out of the judicial district of Massachusetts for at least 72 hours. On Monday, a federal judge ordered that the government not transfer the teen out of Massachusetts without first providing the court at least 48 hours' advance notice of and reasons for the move. The government was given 14 days to respond.
ICE officials defended the arrest during a briefing on Monday.
"When we go out into the community and we find others who are unlawfully here, we are going to arrest them," ICE acting Field Director Patricia Hyde said at a press briefing on Monday. "We've been completely transparent with that. He's 18 years old. He's unlawfully in this country."
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Although she never wanted to do anything law or immigration related, she kept getting pulled in that direction, and decided to get her paralegal certificate, Valdes said. She now works at an immigration law office. Her plan is to go to law school after getting hands on training. 'I always thought: When I turn 18, I'm an adult — 'why am I still tied to my mom's case?' ' she said. 'But nobody explained it.' At her job in the law office, she finally learned the full truth of her case. Her name is still listed on her mother's asylum application — the case that was denied in 2006. So she still had a final removal order connected to her name. That case, and its order of removal, still haunts her. Although she's married to a U.S. citizen, it will take her years to adjust her status to get a green card and permanent residency status. The process will involve her husband filing petitions and waivers explaining that it would be an extreme hardship for him if she were deported. 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In the past weeks, ICE agents across the nation have even begun detaining people as they exit immigration courthouses. Some are individuals with final orders of deportation like Valdes and her mom. Just this week, the Supreme Court ruled that President Trump can revoke humanitarian parole for over 500,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. President Trump has spoken favorably of DACA recipients, but nonetheless, 'Dreamers' still have to reapply every two years, and there is no guarantee their right to legally be in the U.S. will not be revoked. Immigration attorneys say DACA could be the next program to be shut down by the Supreme Court. 'How shaky is DACA? How solid is it?' Valdes asked. Same fear, different country Valdes' mom says she now feels the same fear in the United States as she did in Colombia — maybe worse. 'I'm scared. Terrified,' she said. 'I'm constantly looking over my shoulder, always on alert.' For years, she tried to hold on. But after 23 years, she's tired of living in limbo. Valdes and her mom try not to think much about the fact that they are leaving each other, focusing more on the present and getting through each day. Valdes' mom says her ultimate goal was always for her daughter to get an education in the United States, and now that her daughter has a job, a husband, and is planting roots, she feels like she can go and let her daughter live her life. She left Colombia because she was 'tired of being followed. I was tired of being paranoid. I was tired of never being able to have my freedom, to just live, because I was always so scared. And fast forward, 23 years later, I'm just in the same boat in a different country,' she said. The hardest part for Valdes is imagining being pregnant and then giving birth without her mom by her side. But, she says, 'Now I tell her, I totally understand. It's your turn to finish living your life, Mom. I want her to be at peace, and I want her to rest.' As her mother prepares to leave, Michelle is left with the frustration of knowing that there's nothing she can do. 'I am still helpless. I still can't help her. I still can't help myself. It's a looming darkness you carry every day,' said Valdes.
