\n\t\t\t\t\t\tRachel Griffin Accurso, a nationally recognized children\u2019s entertainer known as \u201cMs. Rachel,\u201d is calling for the release of Olivia Andre, a Maine teen detained at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, under reportedly harsh conditions. \u201cRight away, I noticed that she’s deteriorating physically and mentally at Dilley. I’m so worried about her,\u201d Accurso said, describing her recent Zoom call with Andre. Andre, 19, is originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and had been living in Portland as an asylum seeker before her detention. \u201cShe was shackled, and she was put in an orange jumpsuit at 19 years old, after fleeing war, extreme violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, losing her brother on the way, getting her life together so fast here for her family as a kid,\u201d Accurso said. Customs and Border Protection claims Andre and her family entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 and were ordered to leave earlier this year. The family was denied asylum in Canada and turned over to U.S. immigration officials in November. Andre\u2019s case gained attention after Texas Congressman Greg Casar read a letter she wrote. \u201cBefore being detained, I was living in Portland, Maine, where I was beginning to build my future. I am a first-year college student studying to become a nurse,\u201d Casar read. Accurso says she has spoken with seven detainees at Dilley, including young children, and described the conditions as \u201chorrific.\u201d Democratic Maine Congresswoman Chellie Pingree has also called for Andre\u2019s release, sending a letter to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials last week. Pingree cited reports of \u201cdeplorable\u201d conditions at Dilley, including inadequate medical care, clean food, water, and hygiene products. \u201cWhy would we let children be in that condition? I’m an advocate for children everywhere,\u201d Accurso said. Andre is the only member of her family still in custody. Her mother and siblings, including her brother Joel, were released last month. Her attorney, Todd Pomerleau, said they have not received answers as to why Andre remains detained while her family was released. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security responded to inquiries, stating, \u201cThe facts are Olivia Mabiala Andre is an adult illegal alien with a final order of removal and no right to remain in the U.S.\u201d The spokesperson defended the Dilley facility, calling reports of poor conditions \u201cmainstream media lies.\u201d They stated that detainees receive a comprehensive assessment within 48 hours of admission and claimed, \u201cIn most cases, this is the best healthcare illegal aliens have received in their entire lives.\u201d The agency did not address why Andre\u2019s family was released while she remains in custody.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tDILLEY, Texas \u2014 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Rachel Griffin Accurso, a nationally recognized children\u2019s entertainer known as \u201cMs. Rachel,\u201d is calling for the release of Olivia Andre, a Maine teen detained at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, under reportedly harsh conditions. <\/p>\n
\u201cRight away, I noticed that she’s deteriorating physically and mentally at Dilley. I’m so worried about her,\u201d Accurso said, describing her recent Zoom call with Andre. <\/p>\n
Andre, 19, is originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and had been living in Portland as an asylum seeker before her detention. <\/p>\n
\u201cShe was shackled, and she was put in an orange jumpsuit at 19 years old, after fleeing war, extreme violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, losing her brother on the way, getting her life together so fast here for her family as a kid,\u201d Accurso said. <\/p>\n
Customs and Border Protection claims Andre and her family entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 and were ordered to leave earlier this year. The family was denied asylum in Canada and turned over to U.S. immigration officials in November. <\/p>\n
Andre\u2019s case gained attention after Texas Congressman Greg Casar read a letter she wrote. <\/p>\n
\u201cBefore being detained, I was living in Portland, Maine, where I was beginning to build my future. I am a first-year college student studying to become a nurse,\u201d Casar read. <\/p>\n
Accurso says she has spoken with seven detainees at Dilley, including young children, and described the conditions as \u201chorrific.\u201d <\/p>\n
Democratic Maine Congresswoman Chellie Pingree has also called for Andre\u2019s release, sending a letter to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials last week. <\/p>\n
Pingree cited reports of \u201cdeplorable\u201d conditions at Dilley, including inadequate medical care, clean food, water, and hygiene products. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would we let children be in that condition? I’m an advocate for children everywhere,\u201d Accurso said. <\/p>\n
Andre is the only member of her family still in custody. Her mother and siblings, including her brother Joel, were released last month. <\/p>\n
Her attorney, Todd Pomerleau, said they have not received answers as to why Andre remains detained while her family was released. <\/p>\n
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security responded to inquiries, stating, \u201cThe facts are Olivia Mabiala Andre is an adult illegal alien with a final order of removal and no right to remain in the U.S.\u201d <\/p>\n
The spokesperson defended the Dilley facility, calling reports of poor conditions \u201cmainstream media lies.\u201d <\/p>\n
They stated that detainees receive a comprehensive assessment within 48 hours of admission and claimed, \u201cIn most cases, this is the best healthcare illegal aliens have received in their entire lives.\u201d <\/p>\n
The agency did not address why Andre\u2019s family was released while she remains in custody.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rachel Griffin Accurso, a nationally recognized children\u2019s entertainer known as \u201cMs. Rachel,\u201d is calling for the release of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":263529,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[98728,80353,3988,1511,58165,541,98729,76822,98724,98730,92467,98725,98726,98727,57312,18345,45800,27,29,28,24448],"class_list":{"0":"post-263528","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-texas","8":"tag-accurso","9":"tag-andre","10":"tag-brother","11":"tag-child","12":"tag-dilley","13":"tag-family","14":"tag-harsh-condition","15":"tag-ice-custody","16":"tag-maine-ms-rachel","17":"tag-maine-teen","18":"tag-ms-rachel","19":"tag-ms-rachel-maine","20":"tag-olivia-andre-ms-rachel","21":"tag-rachel-griffin-accurso","22":"tag-release","23":"tag-report","24":"tag-spokesperson","25":"tag-texas","26":"tag-texas-headlines","27":"tag-texas-news","28":"tag-u-s"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263528"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263528\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/263529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}