DILLEY, TEXAS — A federal district court in San Antonio ordered the release of Olivia Andre, a 19-year-old nursing student, from the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in South Texas no later than Friday. The court found that her right to due process was violated and that her roughly six-month detention at the facility was unlawful.

Andre traveled to Maine with her family from Congo. Her mother, her 16-year-old brother and her 14-year-old sister were released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in March, while she remained in ICE custody in Texas. A federal appeals court has blocked the family's deportation while it reviews their asylum case. Andre will rejoin her mother and siblings in Maine upon her release.

"I couldn't believe it. I started crying, shaking. I was so happy." Andre said after learning of the court's order.

"Part of me was worried, scared about being detained for a long, long time. A lot of people have been waiting months and months," she said.

Her mother, Estafania Andre, screamed with joy when she learned of the decision, and her sister joined her after hearing the news. During the months her daughter was held at Dilley, Estafania Andre shouted Olivia's name every day in an attempt to locate her.

The family is represented by Elora Mukherjee, a Columbia Law School professor and director of its Immigrants' Rights Clinic. "It is unconscionable that ICE detained Olivia for six months and continues to detain her today. The federal court ordered Olivia's release because the Trump administration had no lawful basis for detaining her," Mukherjee said.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson disputed the ruling. "The facts of this case have not changed; Olivia Mabiala Andre is an adult illegal alien with a final order of removal and no right to remain in the United States. Despite receiving full due process, this activist judge is releasing an illegal alien onto American streets," the spokesperson said.