RelatedAfter ICE detention, Milford teen Marcelo Gomes grapples with public spotlight and threat of deportation
Wearing a light gray suit, Gomes looked worlds apart from the day he met Moulton for the first time last June, outside of the ICE holding facility in Burlington where he had spent six days detained in volleyball shorts and crocs.
This week, in Washington for the first time, he met with other members of Congress and talked about his experience in detention and his desire to end ICE operations that target people who, like him, don’t have a criminal record.
As he watched the speech, the teen looked for Moulton on the House floor but couldn’t find him among the sea of politicians; he was impressed by Rep. Al Green’s protest of a racist video posted on Trump’s social media account recently portraying the Obamas as apes; he didn’t agree with Trump’s statement about low inflation; and he felt dehumanized by being called an “illegal alien.” Still, he planned to stay and listen to the entire address.
Soon after standing up to applaud the US men’s hockey team, who Trump honored during the speech, Gomes was escorted out of the chamber by Moulton’s chief of staff Neesha Suarez.
Suarez and other congressional staff had seen an online post by the Department of Homeland Security, calling out Democrats who brought immigrants as guests to the State of the Union and singling out Moulton and Gomes by name.
“Today, some Democrats in Congress are planning to bring illegal aliens as guests to the State of the Union. Once again, they are putting illegal aliens above the safety of American citizens,” DHS officials wrote. Gomes “is an illegal alien who has no right to be in our nation. We are committed to enforcing the law and fighting for the arrest, detention, and removal of aliens like him.”
DHS officials also named two other guests, invited by Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York and Sen. John Hickenlooper of Colorado.
Suarez, who drove Gomes to Washington, was concerned about the heavy law enforcement presence while the teen was alone in the House gallery without his phone. Gomes watched the rest of the speech in Moulton’s office.
“I can’t believe they still want to chase after me,” Gomes said. “I’m just disappointed in the ignorance. It’s really inhumane, and there’s a lack of empathy.”
Originally from Brazil, Gomes first arrived in Milford when he was six-years-old. Along with his parents, he entered the United States legally with a visa that later expired. After his detention, he applied for asylum.
His exit from the State of the Union, less than halfway through Trump’s speech, reminded him of his vulnerable status in the country.
“Things are going so good, and then all of a sudden you remember that you could get taken at any time,” Gomes said. “I truly believe everything in my life is in God’s hands. If he wants me to be here and work for the people and help immigrants as much as I can, I’ll be here. But if he doesn’t, then I’ll go back.”
Despite the disappointment, Gomes was calm. He called his mother, texted friends, and checked social media. When Moulton arrived in his office, he told Gomes to “keep fighting,” and invoked John Lewis, the late representative from Georgia, by saying Gomes was “making good trouble.”
“We’re obviously concerned about it, but sometimes in America, you have to do brave things,” Moulton told the Globe. “Sometimes when you really believe in freedom, you actually have to risk it… sometimes you have to fight hardest for your country when your country lets you down.”
Moulton, along with Rep. Jake Auchincloss, greeted Gomes when he was released last June from ICE’s Burlington facility. About a week before, as a high school junior, Gomes was driving to volleyball practice when he was stopped and detained by ICE.
Hundreds in Milford immediately protested his arrest, carrying signs demanding the agency target criminals instead of a student who took honors classes, participated in varsity sports, and played the drums in his church’s band.
ICE officials at the time said they were looking for Gomes’ father, alleging a history of speeding through residential neighborhoods reaching 100 miles per hour. Records show his father ran a stop sign once in 2023.
Flooded by reporters following his release in early June, Gomes was clear: From now on, he would do everything in his power to support immigrants unfairly detained by ICE.
Prior to detention, he wanted to pursue a career as a plumber. Now, he’s headed to college in the fall and plans to pursue a career in public service.
During his two days walking around the Capitol, Gomes met with various Massachusetts politicians, including a private meeting with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a quick hallway chat with Sen. Ed Markey, and brief introduction to Rep. Jim McGovern.
At Warren’s office, Gomes saw a map of Massachusetts where constituents use pins to mark where they are from. “Oh my god, I’m the only one from Milford,” Gomes said, as he pinned his city with a pink dot.
A highlight was a meeting with Rep. Gabe Amo of Rhode Island. As Gomes walked into Amo’s office, the representative said the teen looked like a congressman. The two discussed Gomes’ future in college and in politics.
“I’m so eager to start my career,” Gomes said. “I love running around everywhere.”
Walking around the Capitol with Moulton, Gomes met Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas, who was smoking a cigar and wearing a tie of Trump’s face. At first, the tie made Gomes apprehensive. When Moulton asked Gomes to tell Nehls his story, the teen was scared the Republican would tell him he should be deported.
Far from it, Nehls listened to the teen and welcomed him to Washington. Gomes was relieved. That is his goal, to use his story to reach to the other side with empathy.
Between meeting politicians and giving media interviews Tuesday afternoon, Gomes received a message from an ICE officer through a phone application he uses to check in with the agency under its supervision program.
“My ICE officer doesn’t believe I’m here. I need to send them a photo of the invitation,” he said, reading a message from the application BI SmartLink, used by ICE to track people previously detained.
“They can search up on Google where I am,” Gomes said. The messages didn’t faze him.
Under the Capitol Rotunda during a tour Monday, Gomes looked at Suarez and Moulton’s intern Charlotte Selby and said, “You guys get to see this all the time, like anytime you want?”
Walking around the 96-foot diameter domed, circular room, Gomes was amazed by the historical paintings and sculptures.
“Look at the details. Those are individual grains of wheat,” he said, pointing to a carving on the wall. “I just love history. The dedication that they put into all the carving and the painting. Imagine how long it took them to do this.”
Among the statues and busts of historical figures, Gomes spent a minute longer observing Martin Luther King Jr.’s. “He stood up for oppressed people, and he had Christian morals,” the teen said. “He was kind to people and believed in peace and equality.”
While listening to Trump during the State of the Union address, the man sitting next to Gomes supported the president. He heard Gomes telling his story to other guests and asked: “You don’t blame Donald Trump for that, do you? It’s not his fault, he would never want a kid like you to be taken by ICE,” Gomes recalled.
“To be honest, I actually do blame him,” he replied.
If he could, Gomes said he would want to have a conversation with Trump. He’d tell him that family separation policies do not align with Christian values. He’d try to get Trump to find some empathy and humanity.
“I’m disappointed about having to leave,” he told his immigration attorney Robin Nice on speakerphone after the State of the Union was over. “It’s just a reminder that I can get taken at any given time.”
Nice reminded Gomes that he has followed every rule since his release from detention. He’s not a danger to any community, and he’s not a flight risk, she said.
