An 18-year-old student at Milford High School was detained by immigration officials on Saturday morning while driving with teammates to a volleyball practice, according to a school district administrator.
The student, a high school junior and member of the boys’ volleyball team, had attended Milford Public Schools since kindergarten and was well known to the school community, administrator Dawn Craig said in a phone call Saturday night.
“It’s just horrendous,’’ Craig said. “These are babies. They’re kids. I don’t care that they’re 18 — he’s just a kid.”
Milford school superintendent Kevin McIntyre did not immediately return the Globe’s request for comment Saturday. In a statement to WCVB-TV, he confirmed that a high school student had been detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents somewhere off campus on Saturday.
School committee chair Matthew Zacchilli deferred comment to McIntyre’s office on Saturday night.
Craig, an interim assistant principal at Stacy Middle School, declined to share the student’s name, but called him “an integral part’’ of the school and town community. She said she had first heard the news from several other educators in the district.
In a phone call Saturday night, boys’ volleyball coach Andrew Mainini said the rest of the team was “devastated’’ when they heard the news.
“I expected them to be upset,’’ Mainini said. “But they were more upset than I could have ever imagined.’’
Mainini said the detained student was a “model citizen’’ who was enrolled in honors classes and, as a member of the school band, an “exceptional musician.’’
Describing the student as a “great kid,’’ Craig said the student had his “issues’’ in middle school, but stressed that he had “matured’’ since then. Aside from his role on the boys’ volleyball team, she said he was known for helping coach girls’ volleyball and taking care of his younger siblings, who also attend Milford Public Schools.
The news of his detention, she added, was “heartbreaking.’’
“He’s been in this country since he was 5,’’ Craig said. “Where is he going to be sent? He can’t function [on his own].’’
The student’s country of birth was not made public on Saturday.
According to a post circulating on social media, a rally to “support our students’’ is scheduled to be held in front of Milford Town Hall at noon Sunday — immediately after the conclusion of Milford High’s graduation ceremony, which is scheduled to start at 10 a.m.
“Please join us for a peaceful, community-led demonstration in front of Milford Town Hall as we come together to show support for our students and families who are facing unjust treatment and fear,’’ reads the post.
It’s not clear from the post who is organizing the rally, but Craig said that many educators and school community members plan to attend to show their support for the detained student and his family.
Nicholas Molinari, president of the Milford Teachers Association, said in a brief phone call Saturday night that he intended to discuss the situation with the association’s executive board.
Camilo Fonseca can be reached at camilo.fonseca@globe.com.
