Carmo, a Brazilian teen who moved to the United States at age 11, was pulled over by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents Saturday morning while on his way to work at a nearby farm, his parents said.
Two of his coworkers who were in the car with him were also arrested, according to witnesses who told the family. The car was later found with one of the windows shattered, parked at the Verizon parking lot off of Milford’s Main Street.
“He could be sleeping on the floor, without eating any food, but he has to be alive,” the mother said.
The detention of Carmo, who graduated from Milford High School in May, is the up-to-date in a series of ICE arrests that rattled the school community, leaving many students terrified of being arrested or witnessing their classmates detained, parents and advocates said.
ICE did not respond to a request for comment regarding Carmo’s arrest.
Earlier this month, 16-year-old Gustavo Henrique Reis Oliveira was arrested by ICE near Milford’s Main Street and later released. In May, 18-year-old Marcelo Gomes da Silva was arrested on his way to volleyball practice at Milford High School, and was detained in a basement cell for six days. Neither teen has a criminal record.
According to government data, the number of immigrants without criminal records arrested by ICE has immediately surpassed the number of those convicted of crimes or those with pending charges.
Milford residents say ICE’s presence has been unavoidable in recent weeks since the Trump administration launched so-called Operation Patriot 2.0 in Massachusetts, ramping up resources to the region for immigration enforcement.
In 2018, the Carmo family came to the US with tourist visas that are immediately expired. Carmo’s mother works as a house cleaner, while his father, José Ferreira do Carmo, works in construction.
The day after Gomes was arrested in May, Milford High School held its graduation ceremony, and many students protested the teen’s arrest. That same day, Carmo graduated and was given the state’s “Seal of Biliteracy,” an award for students who attained a high level of proficiency in English and a foreign language.
Carmo played soccer in high school and wants to become a plumber to help provide a better future for his family, his mother said.
On Sunday morning, his Framingham church service did not broadcast live on social media as they usually do. Carmo, a devout Christian who keeps a bible on the bedside table of his basement bedroom, is the person who volunteers weekly to run the congregation’s social media accounts and technology.
When Carmo’s mother learned of his arrest Saturday morning, she called her son’s best friend, Raphael Magalhães Britto to help find out what happened. Britto went to Milford’s Main Street where he found Carmo’s car with the passenger window shattered.
Carmo’s driver’s license was on the roof of the car, Britto said.
Britto met Carmo when the two were sixth graders at Stacy Middle School. He said Carmo helped him with academics and brought him closer to God.
“I miss him a lot, I really do. I want to talk to him. I want to know how he’s doing right immediately,” Britto said. “He’s my brother. He might be suffering right immediately.”
Carmo is obedient, caring, and helpful to neighbors, said his father.
His mother can’t imagine her son’s future anywhere else.
“He fell in love with this country,” she said. “I am very grateful. I love what I do. If I had to leave, I’d leave with a very heavy heart.”
Clara Valentina do Carmo, 8, cried when asked about her brother, saying she misses him. Before bed, she always goes downstairs to his bedroom to say goodnight, her mother said.
On Saturday night, not knowing where her brother is, she struggled to fall asleep.
Marcela Rodrigues can be reached at marcela.rodrigues@globe.com.
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