Judge orders immediate return of 14-year-old Massachusetts girl detained by ICE

A federal judge ordered the immediate return of a 14-year-old Massachusetts girl who was detained by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on Tuesday.

In a hearing Wednesday afternoon, Judge Leo T. Sorokin expressed concern that the young teen had been driven overnight to a detention facility in New York for children, and ordered her immediate return to Massachusetts.

The girl's lawyer told CBS News Boston she was detained by ICE on Tuesday while pulled over in a car with her U.S. citizen brothers in a parking lot outside the Bethel Presbyterian Church in Marlboro.

A video captured by bystanders and sent to WBZ-TV by the girl's attorney shows the aftermath of the arrest.

Massachusetts girl taken into ICE custody

The girl was then taken to the John F. Kennedy federal building in Massachusetts for 10 hours before being driven overnight to a detention facility in New York, lawyer Andrew Lattarulo said.

"She's scared, but she's a strong kid," Lattarulo said after speaking to the girl around 11 p.m. Tuesday night, shortly before she was unexpectedly transferred.

Lattarulo says he had not been able to reach the teen since her transfer to New York.

News of the detention sparked immediate outrage among local politicians.

"I think like any parent, I'm furious," said Massachusetts Congresswoman Lori Trahan, a Democrat. "This is not immigration enforcement, this is the targeting of a child to inflict maximum pain on a family."

Both Trahan and Lattarulo suggested that the girl was being used as bait by ICE to get access to her father.

"Or maybe it truly is just random, but it's happening so often that it's hard to believe this is a coincidence," Lattarulo said.

Officers say they were concerned for girl's safety

In a federal hearing on Wednesday afternoon, lawyers for the government said there's more to the story.

Rayford Farquhar, from the U.S. Attorney's office for the District of Massachusetts, said the officers were concerned for the girl's safety when they discovered that she was actually not related to any of the people in the car with her and had not been to her school in Brighton for some time. For her safety, he said, they detained her. Farquhar disputes Lattarulo's claim that the girl was with her brothers in the car.

Lattarulo said the girl is originally from Brazil and had an expired visitor visa. Farquhar said there was "No indication that she was in any way a target for whatever was going on" and that she was not arrested because her visa had expired.

Judge Sorokin said it was his first time in 22 years as a federal judge that he's "heard of federal agents taking a juvenile into custody where the only reason is because there wasn't an appropriate person to release them to."

He also expressed skepticism at the decision to drive the girl overnight to New York, a decision that the government's lawyer said was necessary because it was the only place with a bed available.

Judge orders immediate return to Massachusetts

At the conclusion of the hearing, Judge Sorokin ordered that the girl be immediately brought back to Massachusetts, with the trip starting no later than 9 a.m. Thursday. Once she's here, the judge said, the girl can be released to the custody of her maternal aunt, who is a U.S. citizen, provided that the aunt files an affidavit with the court confirming that she is seeking guardianship of her niece.

Attorney Lattarulo said he believes the detention of his client was illegal, and is hoping to get her refugee status once she's released. He commended the government lawyers from the U.S. Attorney's Office, and said, in his opinion, that ICE is the problem.

"[The lawyers] have survived many administrations and so with this administration, they went on a hiring spree of just hiring pretty much anybody who was unqualified [for ICE]," Lattarulo said. "The difference is, you have qualified people in the US Attorney's office and you have unqualified people with DHS and ICE. So unfortunately, they're just playing the game of lawyer and dealing with an unstable client."

ICE says officers rescued girl

 In a statement, Homeland Security Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said ICE did not arrest the girl, the officers rescued her "from suspected gang members."

"On March 11, ICE conducted a targeted operation to arrest Igor Jose Cordeiro Ferreira, 28, and Lucas Da Silva Senes De Almeida, 25, two illegal aliens from Brazil and suspected Primeiro Comando da Massachusetts gang members. With the men was a 14-year-old girl who did not identify Cordeiro Ferreira or DeAlmeida as legal guardians. Upon further investigation, special agents confirmed that the 14-year-old girl had no familial relationship to either individual. Based on this information and to ensure the safety and security of the minor, she was placed in the custody of Health and Human Services, Office of Refugee Resettlement within hours of the initial encounter. As standard protocol, she will remain in ORR custody pending the identification of legal guardians.

The vehicle the illegal aliens were in when agents made the arrest was connected to an alleged attempted home invasion in Walpole, Massachusetts earlier this month.

Cordeiro Ferreira illegally entered the United States in 2022. Following an arrest by U.S. Border Patrol in the San Diego sector, he was released on his own recognizance after as a result of the Biden administration's open-border policies. Da Silva Senes De Almeida did not depart in 2024 as required by the terms of his visa."