Milford teen detained by ICE escorted from State of the Union as Rep. Moulton's guest

NEEDHAM, Mass. —

A teenager from Milford, Massachusetts, who was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement last year, spoke exclusively with NewsCenter 5 about Homeland Security targeting him while he was a guest for the State of the Union address.

"I am very grateful for it," said Marcelo Gomes da Silva, who was escorted out of the event. "They kind of just threatened to take me out, so we were afraid for my safety. So they decided to take me out."

During the address, Homeland Security posted on X, saying in part: "Gomes da Silva 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."

After that, Congressman Seth Moulton's staff got the teen out of there and brought him to his office where he watched the rest of the address.

"I ended up getting back to the congressman's office," Gomes da Silva said. "I watched for about ten minutes."

NewsCenter 5 has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment, but has not heard back.

Moulton said the decision was made out of an abundance of caution.

"We admire so much Marcelo's courage, his willingness to come here and confront Trump," Moulton said. "It's something he wanted to do but we want to make sure he's safe."

In 2025, ICE arrested Gomes da Silva on his way to volleyball practice.

He spent almost a week in detention.

ICE later said it was targeting his father, but that the teenager had overstayed his visa.

Congressman Moulton applauded him for attending as his guest.

"We need people, Americans, amazing patriots like Marcelo to show that courage just like he did last night," he said.

"Although DHS threatened me, it means that we're making an impact and I want to continue on forward," Gomes da Silva said.