MVRHS students hold walkout to honor classmate detained by ICE

Students at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) were energized Friday as they called for the release of their peer, Nycolas de Al Varenga Lima, from the custody of the U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE). 

Roughly 200 students poured out of the school on Friday onto the sidewalk of Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road for a scheduled walk-out. The students, chanting and waving signs calling for Nycolas’ release, support for immigrants, and denouncing ICE. Students carried signs that stated “Protect your neighbors,” “Children are not your enemy,” “We are all humans at the end of the day,” and “It’s a beautiful day to melt ICE.” 

Superintendent Richie Smith said he supported the students’ actions and described the situation as tragic. 

“This is the proper way to show their values and express their thoughts,” said Smith. “I think what has happened is tragic. No place should have a 15-year-old taken away.” 

Nycolas was taken into ICE custody on Monday. He was out fishing with his father and a friend but was taken back to Menemsha Harbor by U.S. Coast Guard from Station Menemsha. 

Station Menemsha Chief Petty Officer Tyler Vanderhaden told The Times on Thursday that they had received a call from Aquinnah about a boat in distress on Monday. Vanderhaden said the vessel that Nycolas and da Silva Lima had boarded was the only one that was in the area. When the Coast Guard came back, Vanderhaden said the Coast Guard noticed the vessel lacked a vessel registration number on the side of the hull, which led to “reasonable suspicion of violation of federal law.”  

Vanderhaden, who said this action was not an immigration check, added that there were several violations on the vessel, including a lack of a registration number or a fire extinguisher, which led them to check the IDs of the adults aboard. After finding a removal order on da Silva Lima from 2023, the Coast Guard transported the father and son to Woods Hole to be handed over to ICE. Vanderhaden said the Coast Guard found a lack of family members on the Island, which is why they decided to keep Nycolas with his father. However, a friend of da Silva Lima, who was on the boat and wanted to stay anonymous for safety reasons, contests this claim. 

While new information comes in slowly, the community is reeling from the detainment of the father and son duo. 

At the walk-out on Friday, Smith said he attended both to support students and ensure their safety. He also said he understands the emotional impact Nycolas’ detention has on the students. He highlighted that after what happened, students and educators will wonder, “Is there any place safe enough?”

“I understand their frustration. I understand their high emotion, and I think they’re doing this appropriately,” Smith said. 

But a few students pointed out that the walkout was meant to disrupt school activities, and while the fact that the school administration supported the event was heartwarming, it minimized some of the impact. “The purpose of a walkout is to inconvenience this institution,” student João Fortunato Nunes told The Times. 

However, both administrators and students agreed on their support of Nycolas. A freshman at MVRHS, Nycolas is described by his classmates and teachers as a good friend and student. 

“He always knew how to make our mood go up on the saddest day,” said freshman Benjamin Soares. “He always had a smile on his face. He never let anything put us down. He’d make the teacher laugh and us laugh.” 

“It’s sad,” added Soares. “Ya know? Now, we aren’t gonna laugh again.” 

Kenny Hatt, an MVRHS math teacher, said Nycolas joined his classroom at the tail end of the first semester this year and showed strong math skills and learned quickly. 

“He came from another school within Massachusetts,” Hatt said. “Initially, he was quiet and getting a feel for the class environment, but he made friends and adjusted quickly.” 

Hatt said he was distraught when he heard the news and was concerned because Nycolas was making strides in his education. 

“It felt like Nycolas was getting to a point where he was finding small successes in the classroom, and something like this might throw off his developing years as a student, and I just hate to see that,” said Hatt. 

Students shed tears when they learned of the detention, Soares said.

“We will forever miss him. Everyone cried the day that we got the news that he was gone,” said Soares. 

Soares called the hundreds of students who lined along the road chanting Nycolas’ name “a beautiful act,” but he expressed doubt on how successful their efforts will be. 

“Unfortunately, I don’t think it will do much … But, I really hope that justice can come for him and his dad,” Soares said. 

Soares said he learned from Nycholas how to be a better person for his community. 

“What I would take from Nycholas is, even though it’s the worst day ever, I can always smile and show everyone how great it can be,” Soares said. 

Before heading back into the school, Hatt highlighted the unity shown for Nycholas by the school community but expressed it was unfortunate that it needed to happen at all. 

“They want him back in the classroom. I want him back in the classroom. I just want to let the kid be a kid, and you hate to see politics get involved in that,” Hatt said. “You always think of the Island as a place that shows community through and through and I think that’s what we did today.” 

There is also a rally planned in Menemsha on Saturday at 1 pm.