Hanging out of the car with excitement, Marcelo Gomes da Silva couldn’t wait to return home to Milford on Thursday after spending six days in ICE custody.

“The only thing I wanted to do when I got back here was hug my parents, my dad, yeah, my dad means the world to me,” said Marcelo Gomes da Silva.

It was a warm welcome back with a crowd of friends and his family in tears as they embraced for the first time in nearly a week.

Marcelo was on his way to volleyball practice last Saturday morning when ICE took him into custody.

ICE officials have said his father was the intended target, and now Marcelo says his dad is afraid to leave the house.

“He’s like in a prison now himself, thank God it’s in his own house, but he knows if he leaves there’s a chance ICE will try to find him and get him, like to be honest, I left my house they were already following me,” said Gomes da Silva.

Marcelo says ICE took him into custody because he’s here on an expired visa.

“I came here when I was six, so like I know I’m an immigrant in America, but like I’m in school, I never expected it to get to that point,” said Gomes da Silva.

Since his arrest, this honors student missed out on playing the drums for graduation and a volleyball playoff match Tuesday night.

“Can’t believe we lost that volleyball game,” said Gomes da Silva. “I can’t wait to get back to school, I got finals!”

As he tries to get back to his life heading into his senior year at Milford High, Marcelo wears a reminder on his wrist of the conditions inside the ICE facility.

“This is a bracelet that was gifted to me from a Brazilian inmate in there,” said Gomes da Silva.

It’s a piece of the aluminum sheets he used to sleep on a concrete floor.

Marcelo also says he hadn’t showered in 6 days.

“I’ll always be grateful for everything I have outside of that place,” said Gomes da Silva.

Standing outside the detention facility in Burlington, Marcelo hopes his case will bring awareness to the issues around immigration.

“If I’m the only one that was able to leave that place, I lost because I want to do whatever I can to get them as much help as possible,” said Gomes da Silva.

The high school student was released on a $2,000 bond Thursday and is due back in court at the end of June.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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