Congolese asylum seeker and jail officer detained by ICE at routine check-in
Dannick Massamba-Bankela, a corrections officer at the Cumberland County Jail, was detained by ICE agents following a scheduled appointment at the agency's Scarborough office. He came to the United States from the Republic of Congo in 2023, applied for asylum within three months, and holds work authorization with no criminal record. He previously worked as a transportation coordinator for a Portland assisted-living facility and is the sole breadwinner for his wife and two young children, whom he told he loved before his appointment. Protesters said he arrived at the office with his children but was told to return later without them. His attorney, Christina Corbaci, said he entered legally on a visa and has a pending asylum claim, but ICE cited a visa overstay as the reason for detention; she called him courageous and said he anticipated the detention. He is being held at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility in Massachusetts, and Corbaci plans to file a motion for a bond hearing. He is the fifth known Cumberland County corrections officer detained by ICE, following the detentions of Nilton Ribeiro of Angola in August and a York County corrections officer in January.


































