Massachusetts High Schooler Detained by ICE Caught in “Collateral Arrest”
A Massachusetts high school student, Marcelo Gomes da Silva, was arrested and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while driving to volleyball practice in June 2025. The teenager, who was released on bond after six days amid community outcry, described harrowing conditions at the detention facility.
Gomes da Silva’s lawyer, Robin Nice, said the 18-year-old was held in a room with more than 20 other men, many of whom were twice his age. Nice said Gomes da Silva was not given privacy to use the bathroom and was not permitted to shower in the six days he was held in detention. The teenager called the experience “humiliating” and said he did not immediately understand why he had been arrested.
Immigration authorities pulled Gomes da Silva over because he was driving his father’s car, and they intended to arrest his father. Instead, Gomes da Silva, who immigrated to the United States from Brazil at age seven, was ensnared in an operation never intended to target him. “While ICE officers never intended to apprehend Gomes da Silva, he was found to be in the United States illegally and subject to removal proceedings, so officers made the arrest,” said U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin in a statement.
The mistaken arrest, which came as Pres. Donald J. Trump (R) seeks to ramp up deportation efforts, shows how people who would not typically be a priority for immigration authorities end up netted amid sloppy enforcement operations.
Source: Associated Press
More from this issue:
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- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Free Calls in Massachusetts Lead to Defunded Prison Programs
- $12 Million for Former California Prisoner Exonerated After 17 Years
- 14th Alabama Sheriff’s Employee Pleads Guilty in Jail Detainee’s Death by Freezing
- $340,000 for Former Massachusetts Prisoner Whose Baby Was Stillborn, by Douglas Ankney
- Latest Jail Booking Info Is Based on New Data Source
- JPay Loses Bid to Revoke Class Certification in Washington Prisoners’ Challenge to Crummy Products and Service
- Trump Pardons Virginia Sheriff Convicted of a Bribes-for-Badges Scheme
- Over One-Third of Older Texas Prisoners Suffering Cognitive Impairment, by Matthew Clarke
- New Jersey Supreme Court Refuses Guard’s Challenge to Firing for Failing to Report Kiss with Prisoner, by Douglas Ankney
- Oregon Prisoners Can Now Seek Economic Damages for Future Lost Income More Easily, by David Reutter
- Bold New Orleans Escape Calls Attention to Poor Jail Conditions
- Sixth Guard Sentenced in West Virginia Killing of Pretrial Detainee
- D.C. District Court Dismisses Class Action Against BOP Over Earned Sentence Credits
- Gag Order on Tennessee Attorney for Criticizing CoreCivic Lifted by Judge
- Nearly $60,000 Awarded to Mother Of Dead Missouri Prisoner In Suit For His DOC Records, by Anthony Accurso
- New York City Loses Bid to Withhold Jail Records, by Douglas Ankney
- Eleventh Circuit Announces New Deliberate Indifference Framework in Dismissing Georgia Prisoner’s Claim for Skipped Anti-Seizure Meds, by Douglas Ankney
- Ninth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Arizona Challenge to Private Prisons
- Wiccan Nevada Prisoner Wins 18-Year Fight for Religious Items, by Clark Nelly
- California Prison Plagued by Toxic Water and Chronic Illness
- Former Prisoner Informant Appointed Deputy Director of BOP
- $22.5 Million Verdict Arrives Too Late for Wrongfully Convicted Illinois Prisoner, by David Reutter
- Washington Jail Settles DOJ Allegations of ADA Noncompliance in Failure to Treat Opioid Use Disorder, by Douglas Ankney
- $42,000 Paid to Wisconsin Prisoner Allowed to Harm Himself While Under Observation, by Anthony Accurso
- First Circuit Revives Rhode Island Prisoner’s Excessive Force Claim Against Guard, by David Reutter
- Ohio Supreme Court Says Sheriff Must Get and Disclose Records of Private Contractors, by Douglas Ankney
- Ongoing Detainee Deaths Push Rikers Island into Federal Court Receivership, by Anthony Accurso
- Trump’s “Border Czar” Was on GEO Group Payroll
- Colorado Passes New Law to Expand Prisoner Visitation Rights
- First Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to Maine Guards who Ogled Prisoner During Childbirth, by David Reutter
- Massachusetts High Schooler Detained by ICE Caught in “Collateral Arrest”
- DHS Removed Sanctuary Cities List After Complaint from Sheriff’s Association
- Lawsuits Filed After Fatal Assault on Elderly Prisoner at Kentucky Jail
- Tennessee Board of Parole Spanked for Failing to Make Recommendation to Governor on Prisoner’s Clemency Application
- Arkansas Ex-Police Chief Known as “Devil in the Ozarks” Re-Captured After Prison Escape
- New Hampshire Rolls Back Bail Reform
- Preliminary Injunction Issued Against Milwaukee Jail’s Mail Policy in HRDC Suit
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- News in Brief
More from these topics:
- The Dangerous Practice of Late-Night Jail Releases, July 15, 2025. Failure to Protect (General), Jail Specific, Arrest and Booking, Release and Reentry.
- Wisconsin Robbery Suspect Frames Immigrant Detainee with Forged Letters Threatening to Kill Trump, July 15, 2025. Immigration, Fraud and Deceit.
- Latest Jail Booking Info Is Based on New Data Source, July 15, 2025. Databases, Arrest and Booking.
- DHS Removed Sanctuary Cities List After Complaint from Sheriff’s Association, July 15, 2025. Immigration, Enforcement of Immigration Laws, Asylum.
- Salvadoran President’s Dark Secret Allegedly Behind Deal to Hold Deported Migrants in “Mega” Prison, June 1, 2025. Misconduct/Corruption, Conditions of Confinement, Immigration.
- Eleventh Circuit: Asylee’s Florida Convictions for Marijuana Possession and Lewd and Lascivious Battery Do Not Warrant Removal Under INA, Feb. 1, 2025. Immigration, Enforcement of Immigration Laws, Marijuana Laws/Issues, Assault Weapons, Nationality/National Origin.
- The EFF Is Tackling Border Towers, Facilitating Research into Impact of Mass Surveillance, Dec. 15, 2023. Immigration, Electronic Surveillance, Immigration Law/Offenses.
- Secret Service and ICE Used Stingray Devices Without Warrants, Watchdog Finds, May 12, 2023. Immigration, Police State-Surveillance, Cell Site Location Information ("CSLI").
- Eleventh Circuit: Prosecutor Denied Absolute Prosecutorial Immunity for Failure to Ensure Cancellation of Material Witness Warrant, Jan. 15, 2023. Prosecutorial Immunity, Arrest Warrants.
- Connecticut Supreme Court Announces ‘John Doe’ Warrant Based on Suspect’s General Description and Partial DNA Profiles, Which May or May Not Include Suspect’s DNA, Fails to Satisfy ‘Particularity Requirement’ of Fourth Amendment, Jan. 15, 2023. DNA Testing/Samples, Arrest Warrants, Fourth Amendment.