Feds blame “sanctuary policies” in Massachusetts in teenager’s immigration arrest

Colin A. Young

STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, JUNE 2, 2025…..Eighteen-year-old Marcelo Gomes Da Silva, the Milford High School junior arrested Saturday while on his way to a volleyball practice, was not the target of a federal immigration enforcement investigation and his arrest was the byproduct of Massachusetts’s “sanctuary policies,” federal officials said Monday.

Gomes Da Silva was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Saturday and remained in custody as of midday Monday, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston Acting Field Office Director Patricia Hyde said at a press conference held to trumpet nearly 1,500 ICE arrests in Massachusetts during May.

“Sanctuary policies put us in a position to go out into communities and look for people. When jurisdictions don’t cooperate with ICE and we don’t arrest people, in custodial arrests, then we must go out into the community. And when we go out into the community and we find others who are unlawfully here, we are going to arrest them,” Hyde said. “We’ve been completely transparent with that. He’s 18 years old. He’s unlawfully in this country. And unfortunately, we had to go to Milford to look for someone else, and we came across him, and he was arrested.”

ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons said there was at least some level of cooperation between local law enforcement and ICE. He said it was “intelligence from a local law enforcement agency” that brought ICE to Milford on Saturday looking for Gomes Da Silva’s father.

“We were looking for the father,” Lyons said. “They made a traffic stop on that vehicle, which was the father’s vehicle. He was driving that vehicle. But like any local law enforcement officer, if you encounter someone that has a warrant or, like I said, is here illegally, we will take action on that.”

Asked about what would happen to Gomes Da Silva next, Lyons addressed “the whole due process thing” by referring to the collaboration between his agency and the U.S. attorney’s office, which hosted Monday’s press conference. GBH News reported Monday that a federal judge issued an emergency order Sunday blocking immigration authorities from transferring Gomes Da Silva outside of Massachusetts for at least 72 hours.

“He will go in front of [an] immigration judge. He’ll have the opportunity to post bond. But again, I’m just going to ask you a question — Boston police stopped an 18-year-old on the way to high school. Are we having this conversation right now?” Lyons said. “It happens every day, every day, doesn’t it? There are multiple 18-year-olds arrested, but yet, we are focused on this one.”

Public and high-profile arrests and apprehensions have been part of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement strategy, including in Somerville, Worcester, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.

U.S. Attorney Leah Foley, Lyons and Hyde held a press conference Monday to announce the results of “Operation Patriot,” which they said was a month-long enforcement “surge” across Massachusetts. ICE said it arrested 1,461 “illegal alien offenders” during the operation. Of those arrested, 790 had prior criminal convictions, were facing pending charges here or in another country, or were facing charges for illegally reentering the country ICE said. But officials shared no detailed information about the people arrested, the charges they face or faced, or their backgrounds.

“Make no mistake: Every person that we arrested was breaking our immigration laws, but most of these individuals had significant criminality. They are criminal offenders who victimized innocent people and traumatized entire communities — murderers, rapists, drug traffickers, child sex predators and members of violent transnational criminal gangs,” Hyde said. “Some were convicted of violent crimes in the United States, and others were wanted for criminality in their native countries. All made the mistake of attempting to subvert justice by hiding out in Massachusetts.”

Massachusetts has not declared itself a “sanctuary state,” but it has been a popular target of the Trump administration and pushback against policies that federal officials see as lenient towards immigrants. In its 2017 Lunn decision, the Supreme Judicial Court held that Massachusetts state law “provides no authority for Massachusetts court officers to arrest and hold an individual solely on the basis of a Federal civil immigration detainer, beyond the time that the individual would otherwise be entitled to be released from State custody.”

“I think it’s a matter of semantics, right? We can say we’re not a sanctuary state, but when people are arrested for local charges, drug traffickers who are peddling poison in our communities are walking out the door not turned over to ICE, what does that sound like to all of you? That’s sanctuary,” Hyde said Monday. “So it’s fine to say that you’re not, but your actions absolutely show something different.”

Gov. Maura Healey stepped up her criticism of recent federal immigration enforcement actions in Massachusetts following Gomes Da Silva’s arrest Saturday, this time “demanding” immediate information.

“Yet again, local officials and law enforcement have been left in the dark with no heads up and no answers to their questions. I’m demanding that ICE provide immediate information about why he was arrested, where he is and how his due process is being protected,” Healey said in a statement Sunday. “My heart goes out to the Milford community on what was supposed to be a celebratory graduation day. The Trump Administration continues to create fear in our communities, and it’s making us all less safe.”

Citing “increased immigration enforcement activity across Massachusetts,” Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office last week issued a guidance document explaining the actions of ICE, the role of local police, and what people should know if they or others are approached by immigration officers.

“From arresting parents in front of their children to pulling people who present no public safety threat out of their cars in broad daylight, the aggressive ICE tactics we’re seeing across the Commonwealth do not protect the public, and instead spread fear,” Campbell said. “In releasing this guidance, I strongly encourage everyone to inform themselves of their rights when they see immigration officers in their communities.”

The guidance informs Bay Staters that ICE “generally can arrest people without a judicial warrant in public spaces” and that bystanders can observe and record the arrests “but are not allowed to obstruct, impede, or assault an ICE officer.” The AG’s office also said that local law enforcement in Massachusetts “cannot be compelled to carry out federal civil immigration enforcement, and their cooperation with ICE must comply with state and local legal limitations.