Community rallies after teen briefly detained by ICE agents
By Ted Wayman, Imani Clement
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MILFORD, Massachusetts (WCVB) — Dozens of people gathered at a rally Sunday in Milford after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents briefly detained a 16-year-old student.
Video from traffic surveillance cameras showed Gustavo Oliveira, 16, traveling as a passenger in a white car before he was stopped by two ICE agents in downtown Milford.
Oliveira’s friends said he was detained by the agents and later released.
The traffic stop drew the attention of a large crowd as ICE agents questioned the teenager.
Oliveira’s friends said Gustavo is a student at Milford High School and is originally from Brazil.
Supporters on Sunday said they wanted to offer immigrant families their support.
“This week, another young man was detained by ICE. Gustavo was soon released, but this is the second time a young man on the cusp of adulthood has had to act with courage and grace, as we have to ask ourselves who we are as a community,” one attendee said.
Tina Ryan was among the 75 supporters who showed up at the rally.
“We’ve been delivering food to families who cannot leave home and don’t have transportation,” Ryan said. “We’re here today because we’re saddened and disgusted that ICE keeps destroying families.”
Oliveira’s friends said he is OK but was shaken up by what happened.
“They should not have gotten him because he is under 18, and he started really crying in the car,” one friend said.
In May, another Milford High School student, Marcelo Gomes da Silva, was detained for his undocumented status following a traffic stop while he was on his way to volleyball practice.
Gomes da Silva was released from ICE custody after nearly a week, his story igniting a firestorm surrounding immigration policy in Massachusetts.
On Sunday morning, ICE agents detained another man who was traveling in a minivan while on Concord Street in Sudbury.
The man, whose identity has not been revealed, was eventually taken away by ICE agents, while the female passenger he was with was left behind in their van.
WCVB reached out to ICE for comment on the Milford and Sudbury arrests, but has not heard back.
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