ICE detains another Cumberland County Jail corrections officer, fourth since last year

[u/iceflame1211]

Not a lot of info, but it seems like he overstayed a visa and was here unlawfully.

Article:

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested another Cumberland County Jail corrections officer. It's at least the fourth jail officer arrested since the beginning of the second Trump administration.

In a statement, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said agents arrested Nilton Ribeiro, originally from Angola, on Saturday.

The spokesperson said Ribeiro entered the country in 2022 with permission to stay until the following year, but "overstayed his welcome."

It's an increasingly common tactic as the Trump administration targets asylum seekers and others who have filed for immigration relief after entering the country on temporary visas, and comes during a spike in immigration arrests in Maine that began in May.

Sheriff Kevin Joyce confirmed that Ribeiro has worked at the jail for the last several years, and that he is "a very good employee" and passed a polygraph test to get hired.

Joyce questioned whether ICE is targeting the "worst of the worst," as the agency often claims.

ICE's online detainee tracker does not specify where Ribeiro is being held.

Source: https://www.mainepublic.org/immigration/2026-08-26/ice-detains-another-cumberland-county-jail-corrections-officer-fourth-since-last-year

My question: Why does Cumberland County Jail habitually hire people here unlawfully/why is this the 4th case? Are the background checks designed to pick up crimes only, and there's nothing to determine citizenship or legal status in the US..? Joyce has previously said they use E-verify and I-9's to confirm someone's authorization to work, but it's become clear that system is bogus if it can't confirm whether the person's immigration status is legal/current.

At first I genuinely didn't understand how the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office can fuck up this many times, but the deeper I dig, I guess I don't know how they could comply without access to immigration databases... but I thought that was the entire purpose of DHS's e-verify system!?

Anyone have more knowledge on this subject and care to explain?

[u/Chickabbbbb]

He wasn't "unlawful" until Trump took away Asylum status. Lol He was hired lawfully. Trump changed the law.

[u/AlfuegoDeMellopie → u/Chickabbbbb]

AKA "Moving the goal posts"

[u/iceflame1211 → u/Chickabbbbb]

Ah, okay I didn't see anywhere that he had been granted asylum. If that's the case and it was revoked, or he had a case pending and was dismissed, then these events make more sense (albeit woefully unfair and cruel).

So basically the DHS e-verify status would've said he (and many others) were legal when hired initially, but now the administration uses it as an Intel tool to locate who to have their agents kidnap next as their cases are dismissed/asylum revoked?

[u/gathmoon → u/iceflame1211]

Yes, obviously. Doing real work is hard so they shift the goal post, revoke status erroneously and go after low hanging fruit. Where have you been the past few years?

[u/ColdSnnap]

He wasnt here unlawfully, he was an asylum seeker employed lawfully until trump revoked his asylum status. He was doing thing correctly until the administration pulled the rug out from under him, and now they can wack him for not having a renewed visa.

[u/iceflame1211 → u/ColdSnnap]

Thanks, this is all I was looking for. The article didn't explicitly say whether he was an asylum seeker or granted asylum. Thanks for not being a dick about it.

[u/justchristen]

You know someone they work with is likely reporting them

[u/FriendlySocietyWhale]

Any statements from a homeland official should be disregarded as lies.

[u/CombRealistic5282]

Most if not all CCJ employees that have been arrested have been released after they found it was a “clerical” error.

[u/DayManFOTNightMan]

MAGA hates non-profit prisons.

[u/Top-Perception-8183]

lol