Olivia André, 19, Returns Home to Portland, Maine After 6 Months in ICE Detention at Dilley — Federal Judge Ordered Release by May 8

Olivia André, a 19-year-old Congolese asylum seeker and nursing student living in Portland, Maine, returned home on the night of May 8–9, 2026 after spending six months in ICE detention at the South Texas Family Residential Center (Dilley) — arriving at the Portland Jetport shortly after 11 p.m. to the cheers of family and supporters including Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Hannah Pingree. The Bangor Daily News and NBC News reported on her return on May 9. André and her family were detained by federal agents in New York in November 2025 after attempting to seek asylum in Canada — part of a pattern of arrests at the U.S.-Canada border as the administration intensified enforcement. Her mother and younger siblings were released and allowed to return to Maine in March 2026, but André was held for three additional months. On May 7, a federal judge granted a habeas corpus petition and ordered ICE to release her no later than Friday, May 8 — finding the government had no lawful basis for her continued detention. The case drew national attention and was championed by Rep. Pingree, who called it 'an example of the cruelty of ICE's detention system.' André met her mother, 16-year-old brother, and 14-year-old sister at the airport in an emotional reunion. Her attorney, Elora Mukherjee of the ACLU, said the case illustrates the human cost of the administration's mandatory detention policy that has been struck down by both the Second and Eleventh Circuits. André's case is one of hundreds involving asylum seekers detained during the Trump administration's enforcement surge who have successfully challenged prolonged detention through habeas corpus petitions.