13-year-old detained by ICE in Massachusetts and taken 500 miles away from his family to Virginia
His story becomes the third teenager we have tracked to be detained by ICE in Massachusetts
On a gray Thursday afternoon in Everett, Massachusetts, what should have been a difficult but manageable moment between a frightened 13-year-old boy, his family, and local police turned into something far worse.
According to the family, their child was about to be released safely to his mother when agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrived without warning and within hours, he was gone—transferred to a ICE detention facility in Virginia, more than 500 miles away.
“This past Friday, our family went through something no parent should ever experience,” the family wrote in a GoFundMe post. “Our 13-year-old child was taken from us by ICE agents in Everett, Massachusetts, even though the police were preparing to release him safely to his mother. Instead, ICE arrived unexpectedly and transferred him more than 500 miles away to Virginia, separating him from his family — including his little brother, who keeps asking when his big brother will come home.”
The boy’s parents say they are heartbroken and desperate to bring him home. Their attorney filed a federal habeas corpus petition “within 15 minutes” of learning what happened, and a federal judge in Boston has ordered the government to respond.
“We are doing everything we can to bring our son back to Massachusetts, where he belongs — with his family, his school, and his community,” they wrote. “Every donation — no matter the size — will go directly toward reuniting our family and fighting for justice.”
Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria confirmed the 13-year-old’s arrest last Thursday, saying the boy was taken into custody after allegedly making a violent threat against another youth and being found with a six-inch double-sided knife.
DeMaria said there was no firearm involved, contradicting a post from the Department of Homeland Security that had alleged the boy was armed with a gun and posed a “public safety threat.”
“This could have been a tragedy in our schools. Thanks to the quick and decisive action of the Everett Police Department, it was prevented. Public safety is our number one priority here.”
The mayor insisted that local police had not contacted ICE about the incident. “Everett police does not make arrests based on immigration status,” he said.
“ICE operates independently and has the authority to access certain law enforcement databases and take action on its own accord.”
But once the agency stepped in, the city had no say in what happened next.
“Once an individual is taken into ICE custody, the City of Everett and Everett police have no authority or control over what happens,” DeMaria added. “That said, I do believe ICE should have better equipped juvenile facilities that allow minors to remain close to their families and legal counsel as they move through due process.”
The boy, according to court filings, is a citizen of Brazil who entered the U.S. in 2021 without inspection. Federal officials have painted him as a danger, describing him online as having an “extensive criminal record,” though no such record has been made public, and local police have said nothing of the kind.
At Tuesday night’s city council meeting, Everett residents packed the chambers to demand answers and express outrage.
“If you think taking a child, a 13-year-old child, away from their parents, away from their home, and sending them to another state to sleep on the floor—if you think this is OK—then we have a bigger problem in our community,” said Councilor at Large Guerline Alcy Jabouin.
Others spoke about the fear spreading through Everett’s immigrant neighborhoods, where parents now wonder if the same could happen to their kids.
Mayor DeMaria acknowledged those fears.
“They’re scared,” he said. “But we have tried to reassure them to continue to live their life. Communities like Everett thrive off immigrants. We’ve thrived off immigrants since before my parents came from Italy here.”
In Everett, that legacy is now being tested. For one family, the question isn’t political — it’s profoundly personal. Their son is hundreds of miles away, his little brother still asking when he’ll come home.
“This has been a nightmare for us,” the family wrote. “But with your help, we can bring our child home and make sure no other family has to live through this pain.”