Massachusetts high school student granted bail by immigration court

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An immigration court judge has granted bail to Milford, Massachusetts 11th grader Marcelo Gomes Da Silva.

The judge issued a $2,000 bond, which Da Silva can post. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested him on Saturday, May 31, a day before his girlfriend graduated from Milford High School.

The detention hearing occurred on Thursday, June 5, in Chelmsford, Massachusetts.

Da Silva, 18, was taken away by ICE agents when he was stopped May 31 on his way to volleyball practice.

Federal officials said they targeted Sa Silva's father, Joao Paulo Gomes-Pereira, who they claim is an undocumented immigrant from Brazil. ICE said they didn't intend to arrest the 18-year-old Da Silva, but when agents realized it was him, not his father, who was driving the car, they had to detain him because he was living in the U.S. without legal status.

While Gomes da Silva joined the hearing remotely via video, about a half dozen of his family and friends attended in person to support him. Dozens of friends from school and sympathetic protesters rallied outside. But Gomes da Silva’s parents and siblings were not present, on his lawyer’s advice to avoid the risk of being detained themselves. She later told reporters that she told his parents “being there when he gets home is the most important thing.”

DHS did not claim he was a “danger to the public” but did say he “is a flight risk.”

To rebut that claim by demonstrating Gomes da Silva’s strong ties to the community, his lawyer Robin Nice noted that he attends church twice a week and was eager to know if his volleyball team was the state tournament semifinals. (The team had lost.)

Nice responded, "hopefully today,” when asked by reporters June 5 when Da Silva will be released. She expects he’ll have an ankle monitor, per the current Department of Homeland Security's standard operating procedures. He is being held at Plymouth County Correctional Facility.

"This kid has been sleeping on the cement floor for the past five days ‒ he's brushed his teeth twice," Nice said during a press conference held immediately after the hearing. “It’s offensive to call arresting an 18-year-old kid with no criminal record a 'collateral arrest.'"

She added that her client looked forward to enjoying chicken nuggets and Snickers candy bars once he's released.

A master planning hearing has been set for 9 a.m. on June 26, but Nice said that's merely a placeholder. She said Da Silva will get on the regular calendar, but nothing will happen for months ‒ or even a year ‒ because immigration courts are so backed up.

"Two steps forward, but one step back," Nice said during the press conference.

A separate rally to support Gomes da Silva that was supposed to occur later that afternoon in Milford Town Park was canceled. Quinn Deans, a 14-year-old 8th grader who was one of the handful to show up. He said police present told him the cancellation was due to threats of violence against the event by immigration opponents.

This story was updated to add new information.