On a sunny day in Texas inside one of the nation’s most notorious immigrant detention facilities, I sat down with Olivia Andre, a 19-year-old asylum seeker whose story has garnered national attention.
Despite it being nearly 90 degrees that day in Dilley, a small town about an hour outside of San Antonio, Olivia was bundled up in a down jacket. She was freezing. Her spirits,… Read more »
Just hours after returning to Maine from San Antonio, Texas, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) shared news that a federal district court judge has ordered Olivia Andre’s release from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) processing center in Dilley, Texas. According to Olivia’s lawyer, Elora Mukherjee, the judge’s order states she must be released by no later than… Read more »
Maine Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) is once again calling for the release of her constituent, Olivia Andre, from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) processing center in Dilley, Texas following an official Congressional oversight visit on Tuesday. Pingree—along with colleagues U.S. Representatives Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), Sylvia Garcia… Read more »
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) is calling on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to immediately release Olivia Andre, a 19-year-old student who has been detained in the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas since November. In a letter to ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons, Pingree questioned the legal basis for Andre’s continued detention, as no… Read more »
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) released the following statement on the firing of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem:
Kristi Noem’s firing was long overdue. Her tenure as Secretary of Homeland Security will be remembered as one of the most corrupt, reckless, and disgraceful chapters in the department’s history.
Under Noem’s leadership, DHS abandoned… Read more »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today announced a new proposed rule that would pause work permit issuance for people with pending asylum applications. This change represents a sweeping erosion to employment authorization for asylum seekers. Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) condemned the proposal, releasing the following statement:
The new rule… Read more »
U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) and U.S. Representative Chellie Pingree (D-ME) are demanding answers to their unanswered questions regarding the recent surge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) activity in Maine. In a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Acting Director of ICE Todd Lyons, the members of the Maine Delegation called… Read more »
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today unveiled new legislation to combat the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) aggressive and invasive surveillance and intimidation of peaceful observers. The Stop ICE Intimidation Act blocks funding for expanded U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) surveillance tools and staffing until the agency fully discloses how it… Read more »
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) released the following statement in response to reports that the Department of Homeland Security has ended "Operation Catch of the Day" in Maine:
I cannot independently confirm this announcement because the Department of Homeland Security has not provided my office with basic information about this operation, despite repeated requests… Read more »
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) is calling on Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem to provide a full and detailed accounting of the legal basis for arrests made during her agency’s expanded immigration enforcement operation in Maine. In a letter to Noem on Thursday, Pingree expressed her outrage over the operation, which DHS has disturbingly dubbed… Read more »
