Migrant left State of the Union after DHS’ ‘arrest’ message on social media

A Brazilian migrant in the country without firm legal status had to leave the State of the Union address this week after Homeland Security posted to social media saying it was looking to arrest “aliens like him.”

Marcelo Gomes da Silva was invited by Rep. Seth Moulton, Massachusetts Democrat, to be in the House chamber to watch President Trump’s speech Tuesday night.

Minutes before the speech began, DHS posted to its X account that the department knew he was there.

“Gomes DaSilva is an illegal alien who has no right to be in our nation. We are committed to enforcing the law and fighting for the arrest, detention, and removal of aliens like him,” the post said, linking to Mr. Moulton’s account.

A Moulton staffer went to pull Mr. Gomes da Silva out of the chamber at 9:45 p.m. while the president spoke.

The migrant told Boston’s WBZ-TV that he’d checked before to make sure he could attend the speech.

“My immigration officer said that it was OK. Everyone said it was OK,” he said.

He said DHS was “being a hypocrite” with the post.

Mr. Gomes da Silva, 19, is a Brazilian citizen who came to the U.S. with his family as a child. He has a pending asylum petition requesting protection here.

A pending petition can be a defense against deportation, though if it’s not granted he could become a target for removal.

Mr. Moulton’s office called the DHS posting “targeting and harassing” the young man.

“Marcelo has been in the U.S. since he was 6 years old. Zero criminal record. You’re not making anyone safer by targeting him. You’re just proving how far you’ll go to terrorize young people trying to build a future in this country,” Mr. Moulton said.

Immigration authorities arrested Mr. Gomes da Silva last summer and held him for six days.

The officers were looking for his father but detained Mr. Gomes da Silva because of an expired visa, which meant he was in the country illegally.

An immigration judge granted him bond, which let him be released from immigration detention in June.

Homeland Security said at the time that it was seeking Mr. Gomes da Silva’s father because he was a “known public safety threat.”

A number of Democrats invited immigrants as guests for Tuesday’s speech, seeking to highlight people they said were victims of Mr. Trump’s aggressive immigration push.