Angolan National Arrested by ICE in Lewiston Asks Federal Judge to Dismiss Challenge to His Detention

An Angolan national whose arrest by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Lewiston prompted an emergency federal court challenge has asked a judge to dismiss the case, ending the proceeding without a ruling on whether his detention was unlawful.

Adnero Pinto Sebastiao filed a motion Friday, Sept. 11, asking U.S. District Judge Stacey D. Neumann to dismiss the habeas corpus petition brought following his Sept. 3 arrest.

Neumann granted Sebastiao’s request on Sept. 14 and entered judgment closing the case, according to the federal docket in Sebastiao v. Stamper, No. 2:26-cv-00427.

The docket shows Sebastiao’s Sept. 11 motion to dismiss, followed by Neumann’s Sept. 14 order granting the request and the judgment formally closing the case.

The publicly available docket does not explain why Sebastiao asked the court to dismiss his challenge.

His decision came less than two weeks after his attorneys sought emergency federal intervention following his arrest by ICE in Lewiston.

Sebastiao’s attorneys challenged the legality of his detention and asked the court to prevent immigration authorities from moving him while the case was being considered.

Neumann responded on Sept. 3 by ordering federal authorities not to remove Sebastiao from the United States or transfer him outside the District of Maine until further order of the court.

The emergency order did not require ICE to release Sebastiao.

Instead, it preserved the court’s ability to consider his challenge to federal detention.

Neumann also directed the federal government to respond to Sebastiao’s claims and explain the legal basis for holding him.

That process will now end without a final ruling on the merits after Sebastiao himself asked the court to close the case.

DHS Said Sebastiao Overstayed His Admission

The Department of Homeland Security previously told The Maine Wire that Sebastiao lawfully entered the United States through John F. Kennedy International Airport on March 22, 2024, but remained in the country beyond his authorized period of admission.

Sebastiao later applied for asylum.

DHS has stressed that a pending asylum application does not, by itself, give an individual lawful immigration status in the United States.

“On September 3, ICE arrested Adnero Sebastiao, an illegal alien from Angola, during a targeted operation in Lewiston, Maine,” a DHS spokesperson previously told The Maine Wire.

Federal officials said Sebastiao would remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings and would receive due process.

That statement was provided to The Maine Wire on Sept. 10 and was detailed in The Maine Wire’s previous report on Sebastiao’s detention.

One day later, Sebastiao filed his motion asking the federal court to dismiss the challenge to his detention.

No publicly available filing reviewed by The Maine Wire explains what changed between the government’s statement and Sebastiao’s decision to abandon the case.

No Ruling That ICE Acted Unlawfully

The dismissal is significant because it means the federal court did not reach a final decision on one of the central questions raised by Sebastiao’s attorneys: whether ICE lawfully arrested and detained him.

Neumann’s initial emergency order temporarily restricted what federal authorities could do while the case was pending, but it was not a ruling that ICE had violated the law.

With Sebastiao voluntarily dismissing the action, those allegations remain unresolved.

The distinction is important.

Sebastiao’s habeas corpus case challenged his federal detention.

It was separate from the underlying immigration proceedings that will determine whether he can remain in the United States or ultimately be removed.

Those immigration proceedings are not automatically terminated simply because Sebastiao dismissed his federal habeas case.

Questions Remain About Why the Case Was Dropped

Sebastiao’s decision leaves several unanswered questions.

Why did he ask the court to dismiss a case his attorneys had described as requiring emergency judicial intervention just days earlier?

Did something change in his detention or immigration proceedings?

Was the dismissal connected to discussions with federal immigration authorities?

And what is Sebastiao’s current custody status?

The publicly accessible federal docket does not provide those answers.

The Maine Wire has sought clarification from federal immigration officials regarding Sebastiao’s current custody status and the effect of the dismissal on his ongoing removal proceedings.

The Maine Wire is also seeking an explanation from Sebastiao’s attorney about why the habeas challenge was voluntarily withdrawn.

For now, the federal court fight surrounding Sebastiao’s Sept. 3 ICE arrest has ended not with a ruling against the government, but at Sebastiao’s own request.