USM student detained by ICE in Westbrook

wgme.com · By WGME Staff · 2026-01-23T11:04:18.000Z

by WGME StaffFri, January 23, 2026 at 6:04 AMFILE - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Baltimore Field Officer director Matt Elliston listens during a briefing, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, in Silver Spring, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)WESTBROOK, Maine (WGME) -- A University of Southern Maine student with no criminal record who was on his way to class on Tuesday is now reportedly in ICE custody in Massachusetts.According to the Press Herald, the 18-year-old student got into a minor car accident near the Market Basket parking lot in Westbrook.Also read: 'Bush-league policing': Cumberland County Sheriff bashes ICE after arrest of recruitThe teen's mother says the two drivers exchanged information and then ICE showed up and took her son away.She says she was able to talk on the phone a few times throughout Tuesday until she got a call from him from Burlington, Massachusetts that he was in ICE custody.The Press Herald reports the teen and his mother are asylum seekers from Gabon who have lived in Maine for three years and the teen has no criminal background.Also read: Portland Public Schools says attendance has dropped since start of ICE operationThe Department of Homeland Security says ICE is targeting 1,400 people in Maine with dozens already arrested.CBS13 has repeatedly asked DHS for a list of people detained and what their charges and arrests are. We've received no response.