What started as a typical Saturday morning for a group of high school volleyball players quickly became a moment of confusion, fear, and heartbreak.
Marcelo Gomes-Da Silva, an 18-year-old junior at Milford High School in Massachusetts, was on his way to volleyball practice when everything changed.
He was in a car with teammates
when officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) pulled them over. By 8:30 a.m., his coach, Andrew Mainini, got a text from one of the students: Marcelo had just been arrested.
A Coach Left Reeling by the Arrest
Coach Mainini, still in disbelief, shared his shock during an interview:
“This can’t be happening,” he recalled thinking. “You watch things like this on the news, but when it happens to someone you work with and care about, it hits differently.”
Two of Marcelo’s teammates, who are minors, were let go. Marcelo wasn’t so lucky. And the reasons for his arrest weren’t immediately clear.
The Governor Steps In and Calls Out Trump
The arrest didn’t just rattle the school — it reached the governor’s office.
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey took to X (formerly Twitter) to demand answers from ICE, directly linking the situation to the Trump administration’s immigration stance.
“I’m demanding immediate answers from ICE about the arrest of a Milford High School student yesterday, where he is, and how his due process is being protected,” Healey wrote.
“The Trump Administration continues to create fear in our communities, and it’s making us all less safe.”
ICE Operations Have Been Heating Up in the Area
Superintendent Kevin McIntyre confirmed Marcelo’s arrest and added that this isn’t an isolated event.
ICE activity has been ramping up in the area, including the detention of several parents in the community in recent weeks.
“We are all distraught by this news,” McIntyre said.
“Marcelo is part of our community — a student, an athlete, a friend.”
A Terrifying Moment Caught Firsthand
One of Marcelo’s friends, who was in the car and asked to remain anonymous, described the unsettling scene.
“Three undercover vehicles stopped us. An ICE officer knocked on our window and asked Marcelo about his documentation,” he said.
“He hadn’t run a red light or broken any law — we were just on our way to practice.”
The friend added that he’s now more fearful than ever, saying it feels like ICE no longer needs a crime to justify detaining someone — just their immigration status.
Local Police Not Involved, But Community Demands Answers
Milford Police Chief Robert Tusino confirmed that while the arrest happened in his town, his department wasn’t involved in the operation.
Meanwhile, Superintendent McIntyre said the school would stand by its students and families during these “very difficult times.”
“They are our neighbors, our musicians, our athletes — they are us,” he said.
A peaceful protest has already been scheduled at Milford Town Hall in response to the arrest.
ICE Says They Were After the Teen’s Father
According to ICE Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, Marcelo wasn’t the original target.
ICE officers were conducting a “targeted enforcement operation” to detain Marcelo’s father, Joao Paulo Gomes-Pereira, who they described as a “public safety threat” due to reckless driving at dangerous speeds.
Once they located the vehicle, they realized Marcelo — also undocumented — was inside.
“While ICE officers never intended to apprehend Gomes-Da Silva, he was found to be in the U.S. illegally and subject to removal,” McLaughlin said.
“So officers made the arrest.”
Marcelo now remains in ICE custody as he awaits immigration removal proceedings.
A Pattern of Aggressive Immigration Enforcement
Marcelo’s case is just the latest example of ICE’s increasingly aggressive tactics.
Earlier in May, 19-year-old Ximena Arias-Cristobal, a college student in Georgia, was arrested and detained by ICE after making an improper turn at a red light.
Despite having lived in the U.S. since she was four years old, she was taken to the Stewart Detention Center and shackled by her wrists and ankles.
Her arrest stemmed from not carrying her international driver’s license.
Another Family Torn Apart by Policy
Ximena’s story doesn’t end with just her arrest.
Her father, Jose Francisco Arias-Tovar, had been detained just two weeks prior after being pulled over for speeding and driving without a license.
Though he was released on bond, ICE later ordered Ximena to “self-deport” back to Mexico.
Her lawyer was able to secure a $1,500 bond — the lowest possible — but Homeland Security insists that because she has no pending immigration applications, deportation is still on the table.
“Both father and daughter were in this country illegally and they have to face the consequences,” DHS said in a statement.
A Town, a Family, and a Nation in Tension
What happened to Marcelo and Ximena speaks to a broader climate of fear and tension spreading across immigrant communities in the U.S.
Under the Trump administration’s immigration policies, even young people with no criminal history are being swept into legal battles and family separations.
In Milford, students, educators, and neighbors are rallying behind Marcelo.
But his future — like that of many others — remains uncertain.