After an Island worker and his teenage son were detained by the U.S. Coast Guard and transferred into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody earlier this week, Vineyard organizers rallied on Saturday for their release.
More than 100 protesters gathered at Menemsha Beach Saturday to call for the immediate release of Rogerio da Silva Lima and his son Nycolas de Al Varenga Lima, 15, who were detained while fishing off the up-Island port Monday.
ICE said the family illegaly came to the U.S. in 2021 from Brazil and were ordered to leave in 2023, but continued to stay.
Saturday’s protest brought the news that a judge ordered Nycolas be freed from ICE custody Friday, but Mr. da Silva Lima is still held as their cases are processed.
The rally was organized by MV LUCE, an immigrant rights’ organization, the Wampanoag Tribe of Chappaquiddick, MV 4a Project, Showing Up for Racial Justice – MV, Martha’s Vineyard Educators Association, Tomahawk Charters, MV Indivisible and Sassafras Earth Education.
As Mr. da Silva Lima and Nycolas are part of the Island’s Brazilian immigrant community, all speeches Saturday were given in both English and Portuguese.
A representative for MV LUCE, who requested to remain anonymous, said that the organization was able to respond to ICE’s detention of the father and son after receiving a call on its hotline. The organization then filed a habeas corpus petition to keep them at a detention center in-state instead of being moved to Texas, but the work is not done, they said.
“While we have them in the state for now, we need them both out,” the representative said. “We need all families safe and together.”
The butterfly was the symbol anchoring Saturday’s demonstration, and appeared on signs, on sticks in the air and pinned to protesters’ clothing. The winged insects have long been a symbol for immigrant justice and the eschewing of borders.
Nicole Cabot, a protester whose daughter attends the regional high school, wore a monarch butterfly pin on her hat Saturday.
“As a parent, seeing my child come home devastated that a child from her school was taken pretty much shattered our feeling of safety in this quintessential Island town,” she told the Gazette.
Alexis Moreis, a tribal council member of the Wampanoag Tribe of Chappaquiddick who is a friend and colleague of both Mr. da Silva Lima and Nycolas, has been central to the effort to secure their release and organize the Island community.
She spoke highly of the father and son and said they are valued members of her tribal community.
“This is a family that fishes with us, that shares with our tribal elders, and who are in our homes. They will forever have our protection…” she told the Gazette before the rally. “We’re done having people stolen from our stolen land.”
She expressed gratitude to both MV LUCE and the Island’s Brazilian community for being steadfast in their resistance against ICE and their protection of Islanders.
“It’s really time for us to step up,” she said.
When speaking before the crowd, Ms. Moreis announced that Nycolas was freed from ICE custody and returned to a family member. But she urged the crowd to keep fighting for the release of his father.
“Please don’t stop,” she said. “We need your support for Rogerio, and we want him to be with his son. They deserve that.”
Rev. Joanne Hus, pastor at the United Methodist Church of Martha’s Vineyard, read the crowd a message from Mr. da Silva Lima and Nycolas’s pastor thanking the community for its support.
“Rogerio is a man of character, an honest, devoted family man, and an excellent professional,” the message read. “This family is a powerful reminder that no family should face difficult times alone.”
David Vanderhoop, a Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) elder and founder of Indigenous Wôpanâak nonprofit Sassafras Earth Education, said ICE’s growing presence in communities across America is a continuation of the colonialism that Indigenous peoples have fought against for 500 years.
“I would urge you all to talk to your friends and your family about silence, about this domestic terrorism that is happening,” he said. “Maybe some of us will be accused of that domestic terrorism for just being here today.”
After remarks at Menemsha Beach, protesters marched down the road in a line to Tomahawk Charters, captained by Buddy Vanderhoop, a member of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah). Along the quarter-mile route, demonstrators held signs high, chanting.
At the march’s terminus, protesters placed their butterflies in a basket to be brought to the Martha’s Vineyard Museum. Ms. Moreis read a statement from the driver of the boat where Mr. da Silva Lima and his son were detained, and who witnessed their arrest by the U.S. Coast Guard.
“For many people, the waters are a place that brings us peace amid so many unexplainable problems,” it read. “We are not causing any harm to society, we are not committing crimes, nor disturbing anyone’s peace. What we ask is simply to be able to have our moment of time with our family and friends without being hunted down or treated like criminals.”
For both Ms. Moreis and Aquinnah Wampanoag tribal council secretary Tobias Vanderhoop, who closed out the ceremony, there is power in knowing your neighbors when it comes to keeping your community safe.
“I am thankful for our sister tribe that has come forward and claimed these new relatives that we have,” Mr. Vanderhoop said.
This article appears in May 29, 2026.
Mr. da Silva Lima had an arrest warrant for inadmissibility, according to Lieutenant LeCain.
The Coast Guard then notified ICE. ICE asked the Coast Guard to detain Mr. da Silva Lima and transport him to the mainland.
This is a painful story, especially because a 15-year-old child is involved. No decent person wants to see families separated or a student taken from our schools.
But compassion cannot require everyone to ignore the central fact reported here: ICE says the family entered the country illegally in 2021, was ordered to leave in 2023, and stayed anyway.
That matters.
So many people have come to this Island and to this country legally over the years, often enduring years of waiting, strict rules, financial hardship, endless paperwork, and uncertainty before finally being allowed to stay and become citizens. Many sacrificed enormously for the chance to build a life here. Countless others are still waiting for the opportunity to come legally.
People can be good neighbors, hard workers, loving parents, and valued members of the community — and still be here in violation of the law. Those two things can be true at the same time.
It is fair to argue for due process, humane treatment, and keeping the case in Massachusetts rather than sending someone across the country. It is fair to care about the son and the disruption to his life.
But framing this only as people being “hunted down” skips over why ICE was involved in the first place.
Sympathy is understandable. So is the law.
Both have to be acknowledged.
Beautiful, articulate and compassionate.
On Friday May 22nd the Chilmark School had their annual March to the Sea. This march always includes a presentation at the Menemsha Coast Guard Station. As an employee of the school I would have been part of that activity. However I was dealing with a family emergency and I wasn’t able to attend. Last Monday the Coast Guard had just arrested and taken into custody a father and a son. The son is a student at the Regional High School. The school’s first responsibility is the safety of their students. From what I’ve heard, the Chilmark students were never in any danger during any part of what is usually a wonderful series of ceremonies. I appreciate that Kate Squire, the Chilmark School principal, was caught in a difficult situation. However I feel that it was a mistake for the school to participate with the Coast Guard this year after they chose to remove two island residents from their peaceful endeavor on a fishing boat. A school has to cater to people from all walks of life however this year the act of thanking the Coast Guard was a bad message to send. It tells the Coast Guard that it’s ok to do what they did and it tells thousands of island residents that the schools are not a safe place for you. All of us appreciate the efforts of the Coast Guard to keep us safe on the water but this year we should have politely stayed away from the station.