ICE Detains Maine Nurse Debora Kapisha Over 2024 Visa Overstay as Colleagues Protest Release
Updated
Updated · WMTW Portland · Aug 5
ICE Detains Maine Nurse Debora Kapisha Over 2024 Visa Overstay as Colleagues Protest Release
3 articles · Updated · WMTW Portland · Aug 5
Summary
Debora Kapisha, a medical-surgical nurse at Maine Medical Center, was detained by ICE on July 30 at Boston Logan Airport, triggering a Wednesday protest outside the Portland hospital.
DHS said Kapisha entered the U.S. on May 14, 2024, on a visa that expired Nov. 13, 2024, and will stay in custody during removal proceedings; her union says she can legally live and work here while her asylum case is pending.
Maine State Nurses Association said ICE had planned to transfer Kapisha from Massachusetts to Louisiana, but said Thursday that transfer will not happen as attorneys and union representatives seek her release.
MaineHealth said it had no prior notice of the detention, has contacted Maine's congressional delegation for information, and is supporting Kapisha through her attorneys while nurses press the hospital to sponsor her for permanent residency.
The case has heightened anxiety among immigrant healthcare workers at MaineHealth, whose regional president said the recent immigration enforcement surge has left staff on edge.