MILFORD, MASS. (WHDH) – Marcelo Gomes Da Silva returned home and was welcomed by friends and supporters on Thursday.
“He is still traumatized, right, but he’s not angry. He is just full of gratitude for all the support, all the outreach, all the love,” said Coleen Greco, family spokesperson.
The 18-year-old was all smiles Thursday when he was released from six days of lockup. He says he was in a windowless cell of the Burlington ICE Field Office with men twice his age.
In the wake of the Milford teen saying he had to sleep on the floor with little to eat, Governor Maura Healey called on the Trump administration to make sure all its detainees are treated adequately.
“Anyone who’s held by the federal government or anyone else should be held in conditions that are safe, that are humane and that are free of public health risks,” said Healey.
Even ICE officials say their holding room lacks medical facilities and meeting rooms for detainees and their lawyers, making those statements in their failed arguments to move Gomes out of state.
Lawyers for Gomes Da Silva say the Milford teen became sick during confinement.
“Sleep on concrete floors. The bathroom, I have to use the bathroom in the open with like 35, 35-year-old men. Sometimes our lunch and dinner would be crackers,” said Gomes Da Silva in a press conference.
Healey says she’s anxiously awaiting the report from local congressional representatives who toured the Burlington ICE office after the teen’s release.
When asked whether the state might consider finding space to help hold overflow detainees, the governor suggested not arresting and holding people like an 18-year-old high school volleyball player and honor student for a lapsed visa.
“When it comes to this young man Marcelo, Marcelo should never have been held in the first place. I’m very glad he’s released. I’m glad for his family,” said Healey.
The family spokesperson says Gomes Da Silva, his mother, and his father all have a long road ahead to work on their immigration status.
His two younger siblings appear to be on solid ground.
They were born in the U.S.
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