Members of the Milford community, including dozens of high school students, and supporters from far and wide were gathered around the federal immigration court in Chelmsford on Thursday when they learned that Marcelo Gomes da Silva would be freed from federal custody on bond.

The 18-year-old was arrested on Saturday by immigration agents and has been held since. A judge ordered Gomes da Silva released on a $2,000 bond after a 5-minute hearing.

Outside of the courthouse, chants of “free Marcelo” from among the hundreds gathered turned to a cry of jubilation when word that “he’s getting out” hit the crowd.

Gomes da Silva’s friend and fellow junior, Mary Buckley, was among the first to arrive at the courthouse in protest, more than an hour before her classmate’s hearing. The dour expression she wore upon arrival had turned sunny with the news of Gomes da Silva’s impending release.

“It never should have happened,” she said. “I’m so happy he’s going to be freed, obviously, but we shouldn’t have had to be here today.”

She said that the past few days without him in classes have been very hard. Students, she said, are roaming the halls like depressed zombies, with tears and anger evident constantly.

“You could see the loss in the school. You can feel it,” Buckley said.

Teachers have been supportive, she said, but it’s been clear that they too feel Gomes da Silva’s absence from their classrooms.

“They try to stay neutral, but you can tell,” she said. “But we’ve had lots of support – the guidance counselor went around and talked to people.”

Jeanette Sweeney described herself as “just a concerned old mom from Boston,” and said she’d made the trip up to the Merrimack Valley that morning and even brought a chair to sit in the 90-degree weather and wait for the news for as long as it took.

The arrest of Gomes Da Silva, she said, has been on her mind since the news broke over the weekend.

“I just kept thinking, ‘what if it was my kid,’ you know?” she said.

She said she was surprised by the judge’s decision, despite how much sense she thought it made.

“It’s a little victory, but he shouldn’t have been arrested in the first place. How does any of this — arresting kids, breaking car windows, snatching people off the street — help make us safe? It doesn’t,” she said.

Gov. Maura Healey said that she hopes the result of Thursday’s bond hearing provides some relief to concerned loved ones and demonstrates that “the rule of law and due process still prevail.”