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Just hours after returning to Maine from San Antonio, Texas, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME) shared news that a federal district court judge has ordered Olivia Andre’s release from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) processing center in Dilley, Texas. According to Olivia’s lawyer, Elora Mukherjee, the judge’s order states she must be released by no later than FRIDAY, MAY 8 according to a press release received from the Congresswoman’s office early this evening.
“I am overwhelmed with joy and relief that Olivia will finally be released and reunited with her family. Yesterday, I sat with Olivia in Dilley and heard how she struggles through every second of her time in detention. Words cannot describe how heartbreaking it was to leave knowing she was still trapped there in utter despair. Olivia should never have been left locked away in Dilley, far from her family, her community and the life she was building in Portland. But today, after six months of fear, pain and uncertainity, Olivia is finally comng home,” PIngree said. “Olivia’s release is a testament to the power of public pressure, persistent advocacy and the simple truth that no one seeking safety should be subjected to this kind of needless cruelty. Now, ICE must release Olivia without delay so she can be reunited with her family and begin to heal where she belongs: at home in Maine.”
“I just spoke with Olivia. She is overwhelmed with emotion to learn that she will be coming home to Maine. Olivia and her family should never have been detained. The federal court ordered her release because the Trump administration had no lawful basis for detaining her. She suffered in detention for six months in violation of federal law and the US Constitution’s protections. Her mental and physical health deteriorated during this time because she did not have access to sufficient clean drinking water, palatable food or appropriate medical care,” Mukherjee said.”All children and families should be released from Dilley immiediately. There are cost-effective and humane alternatives to detaining children and families. Protecting chlldren from needless cruelty is not an enormous ask. Our humanity demands it of us.”
On Tuesday, Pingree – along with Congressional colleagues conducted an official oversight visit of the Dilley detention center. They had the opportunity to meet with more than 60 people detained there and heard firsthand accounts of their treatment and the facility conditions. PIngree met with Olivia during the visit.
Olivia, a 19 year old student, has been detained in the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas since November. In a letter to ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons, Pingree called for immediate release and questioned the legal basis for her continued detetnion, as no explanation had been given to Andre or her legal counsel.
Olivia and her family are asylum seekers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and have been living in Portland, where Olivia was a first-year nursing student. The rest of her family — mother Carine Balenda Mbizi; brother Joel Andre, 16; and sister Estafania Andre, 14 — were released from the Dilley Processing Center in March.
Pingree previously conducted oversight visits of the ICE field office in Scarborough, Maine the ICE facility in Burlington, MAss.
For background information on Congresswoman Pingree’s visit to Dilley, please visit post herein dated May 5, 2026.