Maine state senator’s adopted son arrested by immigration agents, released into Canada
Maine man who fled Burundi detained by ICE while returning to Canada
A 28‑year‑old man from Burundi, whose adoptive mother is a state senator, was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) this week while traveling through New Hampshire. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that he was being removed to Canada after ICE seized him a few miles from the U.S. border.
The man, Jessie Laurel Tepler‑Mujambere, had only just acquired Canadian citizenship in July. When he crossed into New Hampshire on a Friday, a local law‑enforcement agency that works with ICE under a federal 287(g) program stopped him and detained him. The agency, the family says, was “10 miles from the border,” and the man was taken south before being sent back to Canada, where he arrived later that day.
“We were very worried,” Senator Denise Tepler told reporters. “I just didn’t know what would happen… I was pretty upset this happened at all.” The senator, a Democrat from Topsham, and her husband Sheldon, an attorney, had adopted Jessie in 2014 and had been his legal guardians ever since he arrived in the United States on a visa that expired the following year. His family says he had been seeking asylum for 10 years.
The DHS explained that Jessie’s asylum application “does not confer legal status in the United States.” Because he had no other valid visa, ICE detained him and is arranging his removal to Canada. “I’m free!” the man texted his family upon arrival in Canada, the family confirmed. His sister, Maya Tepler, said the experience “didn’t sound too harrowing,” adding, “I think we feel like, what a best‑case scenario for a worst‑case scenario.”
Maya also said, “I’m angry that this government organization is blatantly violating people’s civil rights,” adding that “no one is safe from this agency.”
The incident has drawn attention to the 287(g) program, which allows state and local law‑enforcement agencies to partner with ICE. Maine passed a law in 2024 that prohibits local agencies from entering into such agreements, citing concerns that they are ill‑equipped to handle immigration matters.
“We’re glad that we don’t have 287(g) agreements here in Maine,” Senator Tepler added. “It’s wasting taxpayer dollars.”
Jessie was adopted by the Tepler family after fleeing violence in Burundi as a teenager. He graduated from Mt. Ararat High School in 2018 and has lived in Maine for the past decade. The family says he had been waiting on official documentation that would allow him to cross the U.S.‑Canada border legally after obtaining his passport.
The DHS has confirmed that Tepler‑Mujambere will be transported to Canada, but it has not yet released a final disposition. The case underscores ongoing tensions around ICE enforcement of pending asylum applications and the legal status of individuals who have recently obtained citizenship elsewhere.
