While a Portland mother and her two high schoolers were released from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody last month, many people — including U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree and a Maine-born children’s influencer — are calling for a fourth member of the family to be freed.

Olivia Mabiala Andre, 19, was arrested by federal immigration enforcement officials in November along with her mother, Carine Balenda Mbizi, and two siblings, Joel and Estefania Andre.

They were arrested at the Champlain, New York, port of entry after they sought asylum in Canada, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Immigration officials say the family, originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, entered the United States illegally in 2022 and an immigration judge ordered them to leave the country in February 2025. Their appeal of that order was denied in October.

The family’s arrest received widespread public attention, in part because Joel, who turned 17 in custody, is a prominent member of Portland’s soccer community.

LATEST LEGAL ACTION

Since securing the release of the mother and high-schoolers in mid-March, their legal team has continued working to fully reunite the family.

While all four were being held at an ICE facility in Dilley, Texas, their attorneys have said Olivia Andre was separated from her mother and siblings.

Todd Pomerleau, one of the family’s attorneys at Boston-based Rubin Pomerleau PC, said in a phone call Thursday that their “repeated” requests to ICE in recent weeks to release Olivia Andre “appear to be falling on deaf ears.”

A spokesperson for ICE did not respond to a request for comment on why Olivia Andre is still being held.

The attorneys are now working with Columbia Law School and some nonprofit partners, Pomerleau said, and they filed a writ of habeas corpus demanding her release in U.S. District Court in Texas on Thursday.

The rest of the family has a stay of removal so that they cannot be removed from the country while their latest appeal is considered, he said.

“It’s just unconscionable they’re keeping her there,” Pomerleau said.

The attorney said it has been tough for the legal team to get in contact with Olivia Andre throughout her detention, and her family’s communication with her is also “sparse.”

“I think part of the design of shipping people so far away from where they’re located is it causes these hardships that are unnecessary,” Pomerleau said.

Ahead of their release, attorneys had argued that the mother and two high-schoolers must be released from custody under the Flores Settlement Agreement. That agreement details several protections for people under 18 who have been detained by immigration authorities.

PUBLIC OUTCRY

Many in Portland took issue with the family’s arrest. Within two weeks of the news spreading, about 500 high school students demonstrated against ICE in front of City Hall.

Many community members celebrated the release of three family members last month, especially after Joel Andre returned to the soccer pitch. But since then, many have turned their attention to reuniting the family.

Pingree, D-1st District, said in a news release Thursday that she called for Olivia Andre’s release in a letter to acting ICE Director Todd Lyons.

“ICE has failed to provide any clear, written explanation for why she alone continues to be detained,” Pingree said. “This lack of transparency, especially to Ms. Andre and her legal counsel, is unacceptable and indefensible.”

Pingree also noted that ICE detainees, including ones at the facility where Olivia Andre is being held, have reported a lack of medical care and access to food, water and personal hygiene. The congresswoman said she received a letter from Olivia Andre that said she feels “lost, alone and many times feel like I no longer have the strength to keep going.”

Maine children’s YouTube star Rachel Griffin Accurso, popularly known as Ms. Rachel, has also called for her release. Both Pingree and Accurso expressed concern for Olivia Andre’s wellbeing, saying that she has lost 20 pounds while in ICE custody.

Accurso said she has spoken to the 19-year-old and described her as “a bright, incredible person” in a social media post this week. In addition to sharing the family’s story and calling for Olivia Andre’s release, Accurso has teamed up with other celebrities to circulate a petition that seeks to close the Dilley, Texas, ICE facility. It has received more than 250,000 online signatures in about two weeks.

On Thursday, Pomerleau said he appreciates the public’s support, noting Accurso’s effort to share the family’s situation with her millions of followers.

“It’s really encouraging to see so many people that don’t know them rallying behind their case,” Pomerleau said. “They’re an amazing family. They should be living the American dream, not stuck in the draconian nightmare of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”