A Portland mother and her three teenage children are in immigration detention in Texas. They were detained by border agents in New York after trying to seek asylum in Canada.
The Congolese family was detained on Nov. 12 at the Champlain Port of Entry, after the Canada Border Services Agency denied their asylum claim, according to a statement from a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson.
The family had first entered the U.S. without authorization in 2022, according to the spokesperson. An immigration judge issued a deportation order for the family in February of this year, and their appeal was dismissed in October.
“To date, no member of the family unit has valid current or pending status changes with USCIS,” the spokesperson said, referring to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
One of the children, sixteen year old Joel Andre, is a student at Deering High School, and a fixture of Portland’s Kennedy Park neighborhood pickup soccer community.
“It really sent shockwaves through the KP community,” said organizer Anthony Fiori.
Fiori said Joel first arrived on the soccer scene in 2024, and immediately made a strong impression.
“I was like, ‘Whoa, this kid’s skills are crazy,’” Fiori said.
Beyond his talent on the field, fellow organizer Matheus Santana said Joel’s character has made him one the most well-liked and respected players in the community.
“Every single person that encounters him loves him, wants to be on his team,” Santana said. “Not just because he’s a good player, but because he’s a fantastic teammate.”
Fiori said he found out the family was in custody after seeing a GoFundMe page this week raising money for their legal fees. But he said Joel’s friends had noticed him missing from school for about a week.
“So they were looking for him for like a whole week, very confused,” he said. “Why is he not in school? Like, what’s going on here? He’s not one to, you know, skip school like that.”
On Friday, a spokesperson for Portland Public Schools said the whole district was devastated by Joel’s detention, and that of his sister, Casco Bay High School student Estafania Andre, adding that administrators and mental health professionals have been supporting students and staff.
“To have students in class one week and then suddenly gone the next is traumatic,” the district said in a written statement. “We will continue to do all we can to support this family and others affected by immigration enforcement actions.”
Joel and Estafania’s older sister, Olivia Andre, is also in ICE custody.
But a spokesperson for Congresswoman Chellie Pingree’s office said ICE confirmed that it was not involved in the initial arrest of the family, and that it was Customs and Border Protection that “took custody of the family and transferred them directly to Texas.”
ICE’s online detainee tracker shows the mother, Carine Balenda Mbizi, is currently being held in a family detention facility in Dilley, Texas. Pingree’s spokesperson said her office has not been able to confirm whether the family is being detained together.
Online immigration court records indicate Mbizi was issued a deportation order in February, and that her appeal of that case was denied last month.
Meanwhile, the family’s sudden absence is also being felt at their Jehovah’s Witnesses congregation.
“Learning that they were detained was a surprise for me,” said Douglas Mpay, an ordained minister, who said he helped support the family when they first arrived at the church. He said they’ve been valued members of the congregation.
“They are good people. They have a good influence, good friends in the community,” he said. “Really, really nice people.”
Mpay started a GoFundMe that has since raised over $27,000 to cover the family’s legal fees.
This story appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
