PORTLAND, Maine—Debora Kapisha, the Maine Medical Center nurse detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement last week, has been released from custody, National Nurses United announced on Thursday.
Kapisha, a 28-year-old registered nurse from Zambia and asylum seeker, was taken into ICE custody on July 30 while traveling through Boston’s Logan Airport. She spent a week in detention before being freed.
The release came just one day after more than 200 nurses, union members, and community supporters rallied outside Maine Medical Center demanding her immediate freedom. The rally, organized in under 24 hours by the Maine State Nurses Association, an affiliate of National Nurses United, had already scored a major victory by blocking ICE’s attempt to transfer Kapisha to a detention facility in Louisiana.
“Unions did what unions do, they organized,” RN Ashlynn Ward told People’s World after the rally. “We pulled off a press conference and a rally that, I’d like to think, put enough pressure on ICE that they did not move Debora from New England to Louisiana.”
Release shows power of organizing
Kapisha’s coworkers, who describe her as a “kind and supportive” colleague and “compassionate caregiver,” had written her more than 100 letters of support during her detention. They had demanded ICE release Kapisha immediately and that Maine Medical Center take steps to formally sponsor her for permanent residency.
“I know firsthand the character she is and the kindness she brings to those around her,” Abigail Nelson, RN, said at the Aug. 5 rally organized by MSNA. “Nurses like her are not easy to replace, and the patients, our community, we’re all feeling her loss.”
Kapisha is legally authorized to live and work in the United States while her asylum case from Zambia is processed. According to an email obtained by Maine’s Total Coverage, MaineHealth said Kapisha was authorized to work in the United States until 2030.
‘This is about stripping our neighbors of their dignity’
The nurses’ union framed Kapisha’s detention as part of a broader pattern of ICE violence against immigrant communities.
“ICE is imprisoning a nurse who cares for and saves lives every day in our community,” Cokie Giles, a Maine RN and vice president of National Nurses United, said at the rally. “When ICE kidnaps critical, upstanding, and hardworking members of our community like this, they are broadcasting their real intentions and goal: To kick all Black and brown people out of the country and turn the United States into a fascist, white supremacist society—as well as terrorize all people who fight back.”
NNU has consistently called for abolishing ICE, citing the deaths of at least 52 people in immigration detention during Trump’s second term as well as multiple fatal shootings by ICE agents.
Hospital urged to do more
While Maine Medical Center’s management said it was in touch with Kapisha’s attorneys and “providing the appropriate support,” union members called on the hospital to do more.
Janel Crowley, a NICU nurse and union steward, told the rally the hospital has the resources to protect its workers. “This is a hospital for crying out loud,” Crowley said. “This is a place of healing, caring, of helping vulnerable people. But at least for the moment, this hospital is turning its back on someone who very much needs our help.”
Several speakers suggested the hospital could provide a letter of support, help post bond money, or sponsor Kapisha’s green card.
Broader implications for healthcare workers
Ward, who spoke to People’s World after the rally, emphasized that the fight for Kapisha resonates deeply with healthcare workers across both the state and the country.
“Nurses have made it clear how much it means to stand on these principles,” Ward said. “Not only are many nurses immigrants, but so are many ancillary hospital staff members. This is a very present daily reality for healthcare workers.
“We have ancillary staff, providers, and entire units staffed by international nurses brought in by the hospital system,” she continued. “When this hits so close to home, it makes you nervous and scared. But we have to remain vigilant in educating our staff and providers so they know their rights.”
Ward credited NNU with training nurse leaders to educate rank-and-file members on their rights and their patients’ rights.
While Kapisha’s release marks a major victory, the fight is not over. Her asylum case remains pending, and nurses continue to call on Maine Medical Center to sponsor her for permanent residency.
Ward described Maine’s labor movement as uniquely unified and ready to respond when the moment demands.
“Maine is a very special place for unions,” she said. “I don’t feel other states have the same tight connection between different unions as we do here. I know that when MSNA, SEIU, or IBEW need support, other unions are going to show up in solidarity.”
“It sounds cliché, but ‘take on one of us, take on all of us,'” Ward added. “That was proven Wednesday with the nurses. When we came back to our conference, everyone was cheering and asking, ‘What can we do to help you all?’ We would do the exact same for them.”
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