Federal agents in Portland, Maine arrested an asylum seeker last week by smashing his car window while his 1-month-old baby was inside. Glass pieces fell on the infant’s car seat during the arrest. The incident happened as part of a federal operation called “Operation Catch of the Day.”
Hassane Barry, a 38-year-old man from Guinea, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. He came to the U.S. in 2023 and asked for asylum right away. His lawyer says he has no criminal record at all.
According to the Portland Press Herald, Hassane and his wife Nene were driving home after getting their baby a passport. Four unmarked police cars blocked them on Preble Street. Armed agents wearing masks got out to arrest Hassane. He warned them repeatedly, “There’s a baby in the car.”
The agents’ actions put an infant at serious risk
The agents broke the driver’s window anyway. Nene said glass sprayed all over the baby’s car seat. They pulled Hassane into an unmarked car and left within minutes. The agents left Nene alone in the freezing car with her baby and a broken window.
She doesn’t have a driver’s license and speaks very little English. “He did everything for us, and now he’s not here. What am I going to do alone with a 1-month-old baby in the cold?” she said in French. She added, “It’s a dream. Maybe I’ll wake up.”
“There was a car seat in the back with one of those baby blankets you get at the hospital. There were broken glass shards all over it,” he said.
— Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) January 30, 2026
“I carefully pulled back the blanket and there was just this tiny peanut of a baby. He was crying.” https://t.co/wMuQV5nNYs
People who saw the arrest helped immediately. Video from witnesses shows glass pieces covering the road and inside the car. One person walked through the broken glass to reach the crying baby. He said glass was all over the baby blanket. He picked up the baby and said, “I almost broke down right then and there.”
The witnesses put Nene and her baby in their cars to keep them warm. They used translator apps to help take Nene, her baby, and the damaged car home. This arrest comes as questions grow about how federal agencies are using funds during immigration enforcement operations.
Hassane and Nene left Guinea after a 2021 military takeover. Marticia Douglas, who taught Hassane English, said he worked hard and was eager to learn. He worked as a tow truck driver and ride-share driver. Douglas said, “If anything is illegal, it’s taking him. They stopped him only because they saw an African couple. That’s the only basis they had.”
Nene is now too scared to leave her apartment. She has skipped her own doctor’s appointments because she’s afraid of being arrested next. Her fears reflect growing concerns about whether officials are ignoring court protections for certain immigrants.
Hassane is being held at Plymouth County Correctional Facility in Massachusetts. He calls his wife twice a day to check on her. He told her, “All I worry about is you. I left you alone without anyone, and you just gave birth. You haven’t even recovered.” Nene calls him an “extraordinary man who loves his children.”
