The Everett, Massachusetts mayor said a 13-year-old who was taken into police custody and later detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents was a threat, but did not have a gun as has been alleged by Homeland Security.

Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria held a news conference on Tuesday about the recent arrest of a young boy. DeMaria said the 13-year-old was arrested by the Everett Police Department on Thursday afternoon after making a "credible" violent threat against another boy. The teen was allegedly found with a 6-7 inch double-sided knife.

The mayor did not release the name of the boy who was arrested during the news conference.

Everett teenager taken into ICE custody

The Department of Homeland Security posted on social media Tuesday that the teenager was also in possession of a gun at the time of his arrest. DeMaria and police said at the news conference that was not the case and the boy only had a knife.

"Let me be clear, 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 No. 1 priority here, on our streets and especially in our schools," DeMaria said.

According to the mayor, once the boy was in police custody, he went through the standard booking process. Following the arrest, ICE contacted the department and requested an immigration detainer.

"Everett police does not make arrests based on immigration status. Police did not contact ICE about this recent juvenile arrest. ICE operates independently and has the authority to access certain law enforcement databases and take action on its own accord," DeMaria said.

In an online fundraising page, the boy's family says ICE agents took the boy into custody and transferred him to Virginia. When ICE came to pick the boy up from the police department, his mother was present, but left shortly after their arrival.

"Once an individual is taken into ICE custody, the City of Everett and Everett police have no authority or control over what happens next," DeMaria said. "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."

Family files emergency petition

The family is asking for the boy to be brought back to Massachusetts, saying their attorney immediately filed a federal habeas corpus petition "within 15 minutes of learning what happened." According to the emergency petition, the boy is a citizen of Brazil who entered the United States "without inspection" in September 2021.

The court filing alleges that detaining the boy "exceeds DHS's statutory authority and violates the Fifth Amendment's guarantee of due process."

On Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns in Massachusetts ruled that the boy's case should be transferred "expeditiously" to the Clerk of the Western District of Virginia so a judge can be assigned. 

In a post on X, the social media website previously known as Twitter, Homeland Security described the 13-year-old as a public safety threat, and alleged that he had an "extensive" criminal record.

DeMaria was asked about what undocumented members of the city are feeling amid immigration crackdowns led by the Trump administration.

"They're scared. But we have tried to reassure them to continue to live their life. Hopefully, Congress creates a pathway to immigration real soon, because communities like Everett thrive off immigrants," DeMaria said. "We've thrived off immigrants since before my parents came from Italy here. So I tell them all the time, just continue to work hard like they all do, provide for their families, live their lives, bring their kids to school. Just do all those things right."

Concerned Everett residents filled the city council chambers Tuesday night for a regularly scheduled meeting. City councilors echoed the angst of some neighbors, demanding the 13-year-old boy be returned from Virginia. 

"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.