Milford High School students to hold walkout after classmate detained by ICE
Students at Milford High School are set to hold a walkout on Monday in support of one of their classmates who ICE agents detained over the weekend.
Friends say Marcelo Gomes, 18, was off-campus and on his way to volleyball practice with his teammates when ICE pulled over and took him into custody.
Classmates of Gomes say he was in the band and scheduled to perform at the high’s school’s graduation ceremony. Now the community is rallying behind him.
he walkout, which is scheduled at 12:45 p.m., comes after hundreds of people protested outside Milford’s town hall on Sunday, where chants of “Free Marcelo” could be heard. Many of those protesting were students, still donning their caps and gowns, right after graduating Sunday morning.
State Representative Jake Auchincloss also took part in the protest. He says that the town of Milford doesn’t condone the act of detaining a student.
“If you’re here illegally and you break the law, you should be deported,” Auchincloss said. “Milford does not agree that if you’ve been here since before kindergarten, you’re an honor student, you’re a member of the high school band, that you should be getting bullied by immigration authorities while you’re carpooling with your friends.”
In a statement, Milford Public Schools Superintendent Kevin McIntyre said the district “plays no part in immigration enforcement and supports all of our students and families, including those who are immigrants to the United States.”
“They are members of the community, students in our classrooms, athletes that compete representing Milford, musicians, artists, friends, and neighbors,” McIntyre added. “We will do everything in our power to support our students and families during these difficult times.”
McIntyre also noted that a “number of parents” in the town have been detained in recent weeks.
Governor Healey issued a statement, calling the incident “disturbing.”
“Yet again, local officials and law enforcement have been left in the dark with no heads up and no answers to their questions,” Healey said. “I’m demanding that ICE provide immediate information about why he was arrested, where he is, and how his due process is being protected. 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.”
Yago Sampaio was with Marcelo when he was detained by ICE on Saturday morning. He says they were in a car, on their way to volleyball practice.
“It was honestly like a wake-up call for me,” Sampaio said, “In that moment that there was no easy way of kind of getting out of this.”
Marcelo’s friends say he was supposed to be playing the drums in the school band for the graduation ceremony.
One of Marcelo’s friends says he’s like a brother to him.
“We’re very good friends with him, he’s like a brother to me, and this is so disappointing that I have to see this happen for him to get out. He’s a great human being and never did anything, so I don’t understand why we’re going through all of this, especially on a day like this, where we graduated.”
Elizabeth Grady, a Milford parent, calls the situation “terrifying”.
“His parents are terrified, his classmates are terrified, his teammates are terrified, and students shouldn’t be terrified going to volleyball practice; this is not the United States of America that we signed up for.”
The Milford Teachers Association has also issued a statement regarding the detainment.
Nick Molinari, president of the Milford Teachers Association, says that the student should’ve been at volleyball practice.
“Instead, ICE agents targeted one of our students in a deliberate act of cruelty, traumatizing his family, friends, and peers. This is immoral, unnecessary, and should be universally condemned. We will not stand by while the rights and humanity of our students are violated.”
“The Milford Teachers Association proudly stands with its students and the residents of Milford in opposing this dangerous shift in operations,” added Molinari. “We are committed to defending every student’s right to learn, grow, and be treated with dignity – no matter where they come from.”
ICE was asked about Gomes’ detainment during a news conference in Boston on Monday morning. Todd Lyons, the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said the young man was here illegally.
“We went to Milford looking for someone else and came across him,” Lyons said. “We’re doing the job that ICE should have been doing all along.”
Lyons added, “We’re not going to walk away from people who are here illegally.”
By: Kelly Sullivan
Source: Boston 25 News