Trump administration officials sparked a massive protest on Sunday in a Boston suburb after immigration agents detained a high school student on his way to volleyball practice while they were seeking his father.

The high schooler in question, 18-year-old Marcelo Gomes Da Silva, entered the United States on a student visa, according to a lawsuit filed on his behalf after his arrest. While his student visa status has lapsed, he is eligible for and intends to apply for asylum.

Nonetheless, the head of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) on Monday defended his agency’s actions, saying the teen in question is “in this country illegally and we’re not going to walk away from anybody”.

Gomes was arrested Saturday in Milford, Massachusetts, where he lives.

Ice’s acting director Todd Lyons and Patricia Hyde – who directs the agency’s enforcement and removal operations in Boston – acknowledged Gomes was not the target of the immigration investigation that led to his arrest and that authorities instead were seeking his father, who remains at large.