Nursing student detained six months at Texas ICE facility released after judge rules detention unlawful
May 9, 2026 · Portland, ME, DR Congo

Olivia Andre, a 19-year-old nursing student and asylum seeker from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was apprehended with her family in November 2025 while attempting to seek asylum. While her mother and two younger siblings were released in March 2026 following a court order, Andre remained detained at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas for approximately six months because she is technically an adult without guardianship of her siblings. During her detention, she experienced severe physical and mental health deterioration including weight loss of nearly 20 pounds, depression, insomnia, nightmares, suicidal ideation, headaches, and received no mental health care despite documented PTSD and depression. On May 9, 2026, a federal district court judge in San Antonio ruled that Andre's detention was unlawful because the government failed to establish she posed a danger or flight risk and that continued detention violated her constitutional right to due process. She was released and reunited with her family in Portland, Maine.
Timeline
Sources
- Instagram (archived)
- NBC News (archived)
- pressherald.com (archived)
- WGME (archived)
- mainepublic.org (archived)
- WMTW (archived)
- Instagram (archived)
- shinemycrown.com (archived)
- fox23maine.com (archived)
- Yahoo News (archived)
- nhpr.org (archived)
- WGME (archived)
- Yahoo News (archived)
- Instagram (archived)
- Instagram (archived)
- guardian.co.uk (archived)
- Star Tribune (archived)
- Instagram (archived)
- The Guardian (archived)
- nhpr.org (archived)
- WGME (archived)
- pressherald.com (archived)
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