Rep. Moulton to bring immigrant detained by ICE for expired visa to State of the Union

Tim Dunn, Boston Herald on Feb 12, 2026

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U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton has announced that he will be bringing an immigrant detained by ICE for a week in May 2025 to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address.

Moulton, who is running for U.S. Senate, announced Thursday that he has invited Marcelo Gomes da Silva to attend the annual address to the nation to “capture what’s broken in our immigration system right now.”

The State of the Union is scheduled for Feb. 24.

The teenager, residing in Milford, was held for nearly a week at ICE Boston’s Burlington facility back in May after agents detained him while he was driving his father’s car. ICE had been searching for da Silva’s father — a habitual traffic offender via speeding violations — on behalf of local law enforcement when they took him into custody.

Both Moulton and da Silva claim he was treated inhumanely during his detainment, saying he was “denied basic necessities, including access to a shower and a bed to sleep in.”

“I invited Marcelo to join me at the State of the Union because his story captures what’s broken in our immigration system right now. The outpouring of support that Marcelo received following his detainment wasn’t an accident,” Moulton said in a press release. “It happened because people know the kind of person that Marcelo is. He is exactly the kind of young person America should be investing in, not locking up. If we want to call ourselves a nation of opportunity, we should start by uplifting young people like Marcelo.”

ICE Boston has said Moulton’s and da Silva’s claims are untrue.

Moulton conducted an oversight tour of the ICE Burlington facility back in Dec. to follow up on a previous tour he made earlier in 2025. He told reporters following his Dec. visit that “the abuses of ICE need to be prosecuted. Not just defunded — prosecuted. They need to be held accountable to the law that they claim to enforce.”

Those comments sparked a highly-publicized feud between Moulton and Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, who called Moulton’s words “disgusting” and “pure political theater.”

Da Silva was reportedly in the U.S. on a student visa that had expired unbeknownst to him when he was taken into custody by ICE. An immigration judge later granted da Silva a $2,000 bond after determining he was not a danger to the public.

Moulton says da Silva has kept a promise made to the men he shared a cell with that he “would be a voice for all immigrants who have been unfairly detained.”

“As an immigrant, being invited to the State of the Union is deeply meaningful,” da Silva said. “I’m proud to represent the strength, faith, and hard work of my community. Thank you to Seth for this invite.”

The Herald has reached out to ICE Boston for comment and has requested more information from Moulton’s office regarding da Silva’s immigration status and any pending legal proceedings he may face.

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