Filed Date: June 1, 2025
Closed Date: June 12, 2025
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This is a case about an 18-year-old Brazilian national detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Massachusetts. The petitioner, Marcelo Gomes Da Silva, was detained by ICE while on his way to volleyball practice, following the arrest of his father in a separate ICE operation. Da Silva, who had no criminal history and had been residing with his family in Massachusetts, was taken into custody without advance notice and held in immigration detention. He was detained without a timely bond hearing and faced the risk of transfer or removal from the District of Massachusetts. On June 1, 2025, a petition for a writ of habeas corpus was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The petitioner sued the Acting Director of the ICE Boston Field Office, a Special Agent in Charge of ICE, the Acting Director of ICE Headquarters, and the Secretary of Homeland Security, all in their official capacities, under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. The case was assigned to Senior U.S. District Judge George A. O’Toole, Jr., following the issuance of a standing order by Judge Richard G. Stearns governing petitions filed under § 2241 in the district.
Represented by private counsel, Da Silva sought an immediate writ of habeas corpus ordering his release, an injunction preventing his transfer outside the District of Massachusetts, and a declaration that his detention was unconstitutional. He claimed that his continued detention without proper cause and hearing violated his due process rights under the Fifth Amendment. The petition argued that ICE’s failure to provide Da Silva with a prompt bond hearing, combined with the threat of transferring him to a distant facility, deprived him of a meaningful opportunity to challenge his detention. Counsel emphasized that his youth, lack of criminal record, and deep ties to the community weighed strongly against continued confinement.
On June 2, 2025, Judge O’Toole issued an emergency order staying the transfer or removal of the petitioner outside the District of Massachusetts. The order required respondents to file a responsive pleading within 14 days and mandated that the government provide the court with 48 hours’ advance notice and a justification before any proposed transfer. In response, the government filed an emergency motion seeking permission to transfer Da Silva outside the district. On June 4, 2025, Judge O’Toole denied that motion without prejudice, preserving the protective effect of the prior order and preventing ICE from relocating the petitioner during the pendency of the case. Two days later, on June 4, Judge O’Toole granted the petitioner’s emergency motion for additional relief, providing immediate protections, while denying without prejudice a subsequent motion to allow for proper refiling. However, on June 11, 2025, the petitioner voluntarily withdrew the habeas corpus petition, and the court formally terminated the case the following day. No final ruling on the merits was issued, and the reasons for withdrawal and termination remain confidential.
Summary Authors
Victoria Tan (7/1/2025)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70430186/parties/da-silva-v-hyde/
Conrad, Miriam (Massachusetts)
Khetarpal, Anuj K. (Massachusetts)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70430186/da-silva-v-hyde/
Last updated July 7, 2025, 10:21 a.m.