OLIVIA IS STILL BEING HELD

In March '26, Maine celebrated the release of a beloved family from ICE detention.

The celebration was muted.

ICE refused to release the oldest daughter—19-year-old Olivia.

“Another day passes, another night comes and sometimes I feel that this nightmare is not going to end," Olivia told The Guardian.

Read the full Guardian interview. 

Olivia has been in detention for close to 5 months.

She should be with her family and continuing her education as a nurse's assistant.

Instead she is:

• Unable to sleep
• Suffering from nightmares
• Enduring constant headaches
• Without the contacts lens she need to see
• Scarred by shackles
• Down 20 lbs

 “At night, when no one is paying attention, everyone is asleep, that’s when I can cry," Olivia told The Guardian.

Listen to Ms. Rachel share Olivia' story.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

1. Sign & share this petition
2. Give to Project Relief who is funding her legal battle
3. Call your Senators & Representatives
   
   

BACKGROUND

The family had a hard path to the US in 2022. Without access to the extremely rare refugee resettlement option, the family took a long route the the US border and, in accordance with international law, requested asylum.

Asylum hearing dates take a very long time. By the time their hearing with DHS was available, they had rebuilt a life in Maine and become a part of our lives.

E. was thriving at Casco Bay High School, J. was beloved on the soccer field and at Deering High School, and O. was enrolled at Southern Maine Community College. 

In November '25, their asylum case was denied. Rather than be returned to the Democratic Republic of Congo or somewhere else in the cruel US deportation machine, the family headed for the Canadian border—hoping for a kinder country.

They did not make it. They were turned over to Border Control.

E. and J. and their mother were sent to the Dilley detention center—2,000 miles away from the small state where they rebuilt their lives.

Olivia was eventually sent to Dilley, but held separately from the rest of her family.

In March '26, Olivia's family was released pending a new asylum hearing.

Now, Olivia is truly alone.

PLEASE SHARE HER CASE.

Let's bring her home.

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Image:Guardian composite image, featuring a drawing of Olivia by her sister, Estefania.
Composite: The Guardian/Getty Images/Courtesy of Olivia