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Adnero P.S.: Angolan bank worker seeking asylum arrested by ICE in Lewiston parking lot

Adnero Pinto Sebastiao, an Angolan bank worker with a pending asylum case, was arrested returning from lunch in Lewiston; a federal judge has now blocked his removal from the country.

Sep 4, 2026Lewiston, MECountry of origin: Angola

Adnero Pinto Sebastiao, an Angolan national with a pending asylum application, was arrested by ICE agents as he returned from lunch to his job at a bank in the Lewiston area. He had entered the U.S. legally on a tourist visa in March 2024 before applying for asylum, and his immigration case remains pending. His attorneys filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus arguing the detention was an unlawful warrantless arrest lacking individualized assessment. A federal judge issued an indefinite injunction barring ICE from removing him from the U.S. or transferring him out of the District of Maine, and ordered the government to justify the detention. A DHS spokesperson said Sebastiao overstayed his visa and that a pending asylum application does not confer legal status.

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