Teen detained by ICE last year leaves State of the Union after being targeted in DHS tweet: "Everyone said it was ok."

A Milford, Massachusetts teenager who was a guest at President Trump's State of the Union address Tuesday night, was escorted out of the House Chamber after the Department of Homeland Security targeted him in a post on social media.

Marcelo Gomes da Silva was at the Capitol as the guest of Democratic Congressman Seth Moulton.

"I'm very grateful that Seth invited me," he told CBS News Boston. "It's an opportunity not a lot of people get to have, it's really rare."

Last May, Gomes da Silva was detained for several days by ICE. The agency said that Gomes da Silva's father was their intended target, but they arrested the teen because his student visa expired and he was in the country illegally. 

Since then, he said he's applied for asylum and shares his story in hopes of increasing people's understanding of the immigrant experience.

A positive experience in D.C.

Gomes da Silva described the overall Washington, D.C. experience as a positive one. "There were a lot of nice people, good people."

One moment that particularly struck him was a conversation with Republican Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas, who he described as "a pretty funny guy."

"I ended up telling him my story, although I was nervous it would backlash," Gomes da Silva recounted. "He actually said, 'You're a true American.'  It was really interesting to see that, in the Republican party, some people, if you just explain your story and get them to understand and feel empathetic, they'll change their minds, or at least budge."

What happened during Trump's speech

As Mr. Trump delivered his speech, the teen's experience took a turn.

The Department of Homeland Security posted on X that Gomes da Silva "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."

He was escorted out of the speech at approximately 9:45 p.m. by one of Moulton's staff members and watched the remainder of the speech from Moulton's office.

A spokesperson for Congressman Moulton said the decision to pull Gomes da Silva from the House gallery audience was made "out of an abundance of caution" after the official government account for DHS issued a post "targeting and harassing Marcelo."

"Everyone said that it was ok"

"My immigration officer said it was OK, everyone said that it was OK," Gomes da Silva said.

"Someone that works for ICE, she said if you are under an asylum case, that you are protected and that you're legally in America," Gomes da Silva said. "So, to see the DHS post that tweet really affected me because it's like you are kind of being a hypocrite."

Gomes da Silva arrived in Milford from Brazil when he was six years old. He entered the U.S. with his parents legally with a visa that later expired. He said he has now applied for asylum.

Moulton said he invited Gomes da Silva to the State of the Union because, "He is exactly the kind of young person America should be investing in, not locking up."

"He didn't drag me here"

Despite being pulled from the House Chamber, he remained positive.

"It was incredible," Gomes da Silva said Wednesday. "To see Donald Trump talk in person and give his speech, to me was interesting."

He said he's disappointed that Rep. Moulton has received any backlash for bringing him to the State of the Union. "He didn't drag me here like ICE officers dragged me to a detention center. I decided to be here. I decided to fight. I decided to work hard."

A desire to help fellow immigrants

As for his future, Gomes da Silva has political aspirations, with one main goal in mind. "I want to do whatever I can to help the immigrants in my community, and immigrants in America."

"I truly believe that if I continue speaking out and help in being a voice we could potentially make a bill and be able to pass a law that would help immigrants," he said.

If people take one message from his experience, Gomes da Silva hopes that it's an understanding that the path to citizenship is not as easy as some may believe.

"A lot of immigrants come here because their country isn't giving them what they need and need to find a better life. And when they come here, a lot of them try to do their best to learn the language and learn what it means to be an American," he said.

"At the end of the day, a lot of people see black and white, but there actually is a lot of gray. A lot of people just say, 'they're immigrants, they're illegal, they shouldn't be here.' But there's a lot more to that. We're humans."