He was the “ideal citizen” and had a “clean slate.” An active community member who has been in the U.S. since he was five years old, Marcelo Gomes Da Silva was on his way to volleyball practice when he was arrested by federal agents.

Gomes, an 18-year-old junior at Milford High School, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, authorities on May 31, one day before he was supposed to play in the school band at graduation. Gomes was driving his father’s car while carpooling with teammates to their Saturday morning volleyball practice when he was pulled over.

Students and community members immediately took to the streets of Milford after the school’s graduation to protest the detainment and show support for Gomes, who they say is a key part of the small town and never committed any wrongdoing.

Owen Enright, a now graduated senior at Milford High School, recalled Gomes as “a staple member of our community.” 

“He was one of those people that you would see in the hallway, and he would always greet you with a smile on his face,” Enright said. “He wasn’t a fake person, he was real. He was genuine. He cared.”

Gomes’ influence stretched far beyond the school hallways. According to Enright, he played music for his church, was in five ensembles at school and was “a damn good player” on the men’s volleyball team. 

But Saturday morning, he was caught in the crosshairs of an ICE operation intended to target his father. 

Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said to WCVB in a statement on June 2 that ICE agents were “engaged in a targeted immigration enforcement operation” to apprehend Gomes’ father, an “illegal alien [who] has a habit of reckless driving at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour through residential areas,” when Gomes was arrested.

“I think that’s not true at all. [Gomes’] father is a nice guy, he is a son of God. He lives his life for God. He is such a nice person,” said Luri Dias, a Milford High School rising senior and a close friend of Gomes. 

When asked why ICE would detain a non-violent teenager, Todd Lyons, current director of ICE, said in a press conference June 2, “I didn’t say he was dangerous. I said he’s in this country illegally and we’re not going to walk away from anybody.”

Throughout his campaign and second term in office, President Donald Trump has described his deportation efforts as targeting “violent criminal illegal aliens.” Gomes’ friends say he never experienced any trouble with the law.

“Marcelo was an ideal citizen,” Enright said. “He lived here since he was [five] years old, and never did anything wrong. I’d say many people looked up to him. He was a model citizen.” 

“I heard that it was checked and that he had a clean slate. He has nothing against him,” said Laura Rodrigues, a junior at Milford High School who has known Gomes since she was seven.

According to his family, Gomes is currently being held in an ICE detention center in Burlington, and Gomes’ family has made contact with him, Dias said.

“They say that he is doing fine. They say that he has made some friends there, but he wants to come back home, of course,” Dias said.  

Dias also said Gomes’ father has not been apprehended by ICE and remains in Massachusetts. 

According to Lyons, ICE detained nearly 1,500 people in Massachusetts in May.

“His family has been living here for 12 years now. It’s kind of crazy to me how this family who has come to America for a better life for themselves is now being uprooted just because a kid was on his way to volleyball practice,” Enright said.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey released a statement regarding Gomes June 3, saying “I stand with the Milford community in calling for Marcelo’s release.”

On June 2, a judge decided ICE cannot transport Gomes out of the state for at least 72 hours. The Gomes family’s attorney has filed a petition for his immediate release.

“It’s very hard to sit under this administration and sit silently and obediently and just wait for change — I feel we need to step up against this,” Enright said.