MILFORD – Sixteen-year-old Gustavo Henrique Oliveira was taken into custody by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement near the Milford police station Friday afternoon, multiple residents who know him told the Globe.
Oliveira was released a few hours later, according to a community member assisting the family on Friday.
The teen, a Brazilian high school student at Milford High School, was approached on Main Street by Draper Memorial Park , after immigration officials stopped a vehicle he was in.
ICE did not respond to an immediate request for comment.
The arrest comes as the Trump administration has publicized an immigration surge in Massachusetts dubbed as “Operation Patriot 2.0,” and has ramped up infrastructure in the region to swiftly arrest and detain immigrants without a legal status.
A video posted to social media shows a masked officer dragging a barefoot teen, Oliveira, already in handcuffs.
More than a dozen people arrived at the scene in downtown Milford on Friday afternoon, after news of the arrest spread quickly throughout the town, according to witnesses. Videos circulated online show residents questioning immigration agents about why they were detaining the teenager.
“He’s 16 years old,” one man tells the immigration officer, who appears to be taking a picture of the crowd while Oliveira is in the back of a grey, unmarked SUV. “A student, that’s wild.”
One of the officers in the video has a vest with the letters “ERO” on it, referencing the Enforcement and Removal Operations arm of ICE.
Marcelo Gomes da Silva, the Milford 18-year-old who was arrested and released by ICE earlier this year when he was on his way to volleyball practice, posted on social media, “my heart is torn.”
Gomes was detained by ICE for six days, and his case drew national attention to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics in the region.
This developing story will be updated if more information becomes available.
Marcela Rodrigues can be reached at marcela.rodrigues@globe.com. Giulia McDonnell Nieto del Rio can be reached at giulia.mcdnr@globe.com. Follow her @giuliamcdnr.
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