Marcelo Gomes is a high school student in Milford, Massachusetts. He’s lived in our community, gone to our schools, and built his life here. But now, he’s being held in ICE detention—not because of anything he did, but because of a traffic stop targeting his father.

Marcelo isn’t accused of any crime. He was swept up in an immigration raid and is now sitting in a Burlington detention center. His future is hanging in the balance, and his community is being forced to watch, helpless, as he faces the threat of being deported away from the only life he knows.

ICE claims this is “due process.” But this is not justice. Marcelo is a student, not a threat. He belongs in a classroom, not a cell.

We call on ICE and the Department of Homeland Security to immediately release Marcelo Gomes and allow him to remain in Massachusetts with his family while his case proceeds. We also urge Governor Maura Healey and our local elected officials to publicly support his release and ensure our state does not enable ICE to target students.

Let Marcelo go. Let him come home. Massachusetts doesn’t lock up its kids.

[Photo Credit: NBC Boston]