The head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement [Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE] defended on Monday his agency’s decision to arrest a Massachusetts high school student on his way to volleyball practice, saying “he’s in this country illegally and we’re not going to walk away from anybody.”

He’s a child who has been here since the age of five. He knows no other country.

And people wonder why ICE is so reviled?

Lyons and Patricia Hyde, the acting field director of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in Boston, said Gomes was not the target of the investigation that led to his arrest and that authorities instead were seeking his father, who remains at large.

…

A federal judge issued an emergency order on Sunday preventing authorities from transferring Gomes out of Massachusetts for at least 72 hours in response to a lawsuit arguing he was unlawfully detained.

The lawsuit said that Gomes entered the United States on a student visa. While his student visa status has lapsed, the lawsuit said he is eligible for and intends to apply for asylum.

Top US immigration officials defend arrest of Massachusetts high school student

The head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement defended on Monday his agency’s decision to arrest a Massachusetts high school student on his way to volleyball practice, saying “he’s in this country illegally and we’re not going to walk away from anybody.”

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/top-us-immigration-officials-defend-arrest-massachusetts-high-school-student-2025-06-02