This story will be updated.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it arrested 206 people in Maine during a multiday operation last month, but has released little information about those detained. Maine Public is tracking several of these cases, relying on interviews, court records, and reporting from other media outlets.
If you have information to share about someone who was arrested by ICE, you can email our news team at tellmemore@mainepublic.org.
Delfino Nsuka
Nsuka was pulled over and detained by ICE agents in Lewiston on his way home from work on Jan. 22, according to his wife, Jaylee Shropshire-Nsuka. Shropshire-Nsuka said Delfino, originally from Angola, has a pending asylum claim and no criminal record. She said he works at FedEx and as direct support professional. He was taken to the Plymouth County Correctional Facility in Massachusetts.
Calebe Kalonji
An asylum seeker from Angola, Kalonji was arrested in South Portland on Jan. 22 on his way to work, according to his friend Carlos, who knows Kalonji through church. Carlos said in the absence of close relatives in the U.S., the congregation is Kalonji's family here. On Feb. 2, a federal judge in Massachusetts granted Kalonji's habeas corpus petition, and ordered the government to give Kalonji a bond hearing no later than Feb. 9.
Makengo
Makengo, who we're identifying only by his first name, is a parishioner at First Parish Congregational Church in Saco. According to senior minister Rev. Scott Cousineau, Makengo's wife recently had an emergency C-section, and was still in the hospital with the couple's baby girl when Makengo was arrested. Cousineau said Makengo and his wife are seeking asylum and are beloved members of the congregation, which has organized to support the family.
Emanuel Landila
Landila is a corrections officer recruit at the Cumberland County Jail, and a video of his arrest circulated widely on social media. He was arrested on Jan. 21 in Portland when several ICE agents wrestled him out of his car and put him in an unmarked vehicle, leaving his car on the side of the road. Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce called ICE's action "bush league policing," and said Landila had legal work authorization and no criminal record. Landila's sister, Paulete Mbuangi, said Landila has a pending asylum claim.
Francoise Makuiza
Makuiza was one of the first people arrested during the ICE surge to win her release through the courts, after Maine's Chief U.S. District Judge Lance Walker granted her habeas corpus petition on Jan. 30, according to court filings. Makuiza is originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and has lived in the U.S. since 2011. Judge Walker found she overstayed her visa, but had applied for asylum and received work authorization. She was detained on Jan. 23 in Portland while her husband was driving her to work, according to court records. According to a GoFundMe to support her legal fees, Makuiza is now back in Maine with her family.
Marcos Gaspar da Silva
An asylum seeker from Brazil, da Silva was arrested on Jan. 20 when he was pulled over while driving with another man, according to da Silva's wife, Alessia. Alessia said da Silva works as a general contractor in Maine. Since his arrest, Alessia said da Silva has been transferred multiple times between detention facilities in Massachusetts, Louisiana and Arizona. According to Alessia, ICE officials are pressuring da Silva to agree to be deported.
Yanick Joao Carneiro
Carneiro was arrested on Jan. 20 during what was supposed to be a routine immigration check-in at the ICE office in Scarborough, according to court records, which also state that Carneiro lives in Portland with his wife and two U.S. citizen children. On Jan. 30, a federal judge granted Carneiro's habeas corpus petition, and ordered the government to give Carneiro a bond hearing within seven days of the ruling. He's currently being held at the Plymouth County Correction Facility in Massachusetts, according to ICE's online detainee locator system.
Micheline Ntumba
Ntumba, a mother of four, lives in Portland and works at Portland Public Schools, according to Superintendent Ryan Scallon. In a letter to the school community on Jan. 24, Scallon said Ntumba has legal authorization to work in the U.S. and passed a background check allowing her to work in schools. Her arrest on Jan. 21 was first reported by the Maine Monitor. She is currently detained at an ICE facility in Arizona, according to ICE's online detainee locator system.
Jean-Pierre Obiang
Obiang is an 18-year-old student at the University of Southern Maine, according to the Press Herald, which was the first to report on his arrest outside the Market Basket in Westbrook on Jan. 20. One of his USM classmates, who asked to remain anonymous out of concern for her own immigration status, described Obiang as warm and easy to be around. "He's the type of person that when you walk into a room, he'll make you feel like you guys are already friends" the classmate said. "The conversation just flows with him."
Max Muragwabugabo
Originally from Burundi, Muragwabugabo works in Saco at a residential home for adults with developmental disabilities, according to his employer, Cassandra Linton. Linton said Muragwabugabo had stepped out to get lunch and was on the phone with a friend when agents arrested him on Jan. 20. Linton said Muragwabugabo has a pending asylum claim, and that she's not sure where he is being held.
Luis Condo
Condo, a Westbrook resident originally from Ecuador, was arrested by ICE on Jan. 21 on his way to work, according to court filings. He is currently being held at the Plymouth County Correctional Center in Massachusetts, according to his lawyer, and is challenging his detention in federal court.
Robin Ramos
Ramos, originally from Ecuador, was arrested on Jan. 22 in Biddeford while coming home from work, according to court filings. On Jan. 30, a federal judge in Massachusetts, where Ramos is being held, granted his habeas corpus petition and ordered the government to grant Ramos a bond hearing within 10 days of the order.
Jhonatan Cuenca
Another Biddeford resident from Ecuador, court records indicate Cuenca was arrested on Jan. 22 while coming home from work. Cuenca is awaiting a bond hearing after a federal judge granted his habeas petition, according to his lawyer.
