Portland Mother and Three Children Released Following Four Months in Federal Immigration Detention

Carine Balenda Mbizi and her children return to Portland, Maine, after four months in a Texas ICE facility following a failed asylum bid.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 19, 2026, 5:27 PM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from Maine Public and The Maine Monitor

A Community Reunion in Portland

The return of Carine Balenda Mbizi and her children—Joel, Estafania, and Olivia—marks the end of a four-month period of uncertainty that began with their disappearance from the Portland community last autumn. The family, originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, had been held at a family detention facility in Dilley, Texas, since November 12, 2025. Their release this week was met with a surge of relief from neighbors, classmates, and fellow congregants who had spent months advocating for their return.

The Path to Detention

The family’s legal ordeal began when they traveled to the Champlain Port of Entry in New York to seek asylum in Canada. Following the denial of their claim by the Canada Border Services Agency, they were transferred to the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Because the family had been issued a deportation order in February 2024—and an subsequent appeal was dismissed in October—they were immediately processed for removal and transported to the Texas facility. Their sudden absence from Portland schools and local soccer fields initially sent shockwaves through the Kennedy Park neighborhood.

Grassroots Advocacy and Legal Intervention

The release was made possible through a multifaceted support network that included Portland Public Schools, local religious leaders, and federal representatives. A GoFundMe campaign initiated by Douglas Mpay, a minister at the family’s Jehovah’s Witnesses congregation, raised over $27,000 to cover the family's mounting legal fees. Additionally, the office of Congresswoman Chellie Pingree was instrumental in tracking the family's location after they were "disappeared" into the federal system, providing critical updates to the community during the height of the January immigration enforcement surge in Maine.