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Cumberland County corrections officer from Angola detained by ICE, fourth from Maine jail

Aug 23, 2026·Location: Portland, ME

Country of origin: Angola

Cumberland County corrections officer from Angola detained by ICE, fourth from Maine jail

Nilton Ribeiro, a corrections officer at the Cumberland County Jail in Maine since August 2023, was arrested by ICE agents during what DHS described as a targeted enforcement operation. Officials said Ribeiro, originally from Angola, entered the U.S. in September 2022 with permission to stay until the following year but overstayed. Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce called him "a very good employee" who had passed a polygraph test to get hired, while jail administrator Timothy Kortes described him as a satisfactory employee who met job expectations and had notified the jail of an immigration issue before missing work. Federal officials have not disclosed his detention location. He is at least the fourth Cumberland County Jail corrections officer detained by ICE in the past 16 months.

Timeline

Aug 22, 2026Detained by ICE agents in a targeted enforcement operation
Aug 1, 2023Began working as a corrections officer at Cumberland County Jail
Sep 1, 2022Ribeiro entered the U.S. with permission to stay until 2023
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