how a massachusett town became a flashpoint in the immigration war;

Immigrants in this blue-collar town say they are living in constant fear of ICE raids that have rounded up 1,500 undocumented people throughout Massachusetts.

Among those arrested was Marcelo Gomes da Silva, an 11th grader at Milford High School, whose story has drawn widespread attention for throwing into stark relief immigration enforcement tensions around the country.

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Gomes da Silva’s family, who brought him to the United States from Brazil when he was 7, are just some of the thousands of immigrants from Latin America whose arrival has reshaped Milford in the past two decades. {snip}

The fear is pervasive throughout the community, says Reggie Lima, a Brazilian American who on a recent day wore a Trump hat in Milford’s Padaria Brasil Bakery.

“Every day, it’s on the back of everybody’s mind. Nobody leaves home today without checking around, checking the windows, to see if ICE is outside,” Lima says.

Gomes Da Silva, 18, was arrested by ICE agents on May 31 when he was stopped on his way to volleyball practice. Federal officials said they targeted his father, Joao Paulo Gomes-Pereira, who they say is undocumented and has a history of reckless driving.

The next day, Gomes da Silva’s girlfriend and the other seniors at Milford High School graduated under a cloud of angst. Not only was Gomes da Silva − the drummer in the school band performing that day − absent, but so were two of the graduating students and the families of many others...........more.........