AUGUSTA — Maine lawmakers have passed a bill that would prohibit local law enforcement agencies from detaining people solely for immigration enforcement purposes and limit local agencies’ ability to work with federal immigration authorities.
The bill, LD 1971, passed 75-73 in the House of Representatives and 20-14 in the Senate. Two Democrats, Stephan Bunker of Farmington and Dani O’Halloran of Brewer, joined Republicans in opposing the bill in the House, while Sen. Rick Bennett, R-Oxford, joined Democrats in supporting it in the Senate. The measure is now headed to Gov. Janet Mills, who has 10 days to sign or veto it.
Sponsored by Rep. Deqa Dhalac, D-South Portland, the bill comes in response to President Donald Trump’s efforts to fulfill a campaign promise to conduct the largest mass deportation effort in American history.
Trump originally said he would focus on violent criminals in the country illegally, but his administration has been detaining people not accused of crimes at worksites and public spaces, and deporting them without due process, sometimes in violation of court orders.
Dhalac’s bill would prohibit state, county and local law enforcement officers from investigating, interrogating, detaining, stopping, arresting or searching a person solely for immigration enforcement purposes.
It also would not allow local officers to be placed under the supervision of federal authorities for the purpose of working on immigration enforcement or allow local law enforcement to use federal immigration officers as interpreters.
The bill would still allow local entities to participate in various task forces with federal agencies and to assist federal agents in criminal investigations, including executing warrants and sharing information on suspected criminal activity. Additionally, federal immigration agents could interview someone in custody with a court order.
The bill generated significant debate in both the House and Senate after drawing support from immigrants rights advocates at a public hearing last month. Maine State Police testified against the bill at the time, saying it was too restrictive and would significantly reduce their ability to work with federal authorities, although the final version of the bill passed Wednesday was amended from its original version.
Republicans accused Democrats of trying to create a sanctuary state, which they said would make Maine a magnet for people who are in the country illegally, jeopardize federal funding and compromise public safety. A fiscal note attached to the bill said it could risk up to $14 million in grant funding related to law enforcement work with immigration enforcement efforts.
In the Senate Wednesday, Sen. Matthew Harrington, R-Sanford, criticized the bill as unclear and open to different interpretations, with police agencies possibly deciding to take different approaches to training. “I think that’s a serious flaw with it that we should think about,” Harrington said.
Democrats, however, argued that the bill would ensure Maine’s law enforcement community can use its resources to focus on criminal activity and maintain trust with members of the immigrant community, many of whom, they said, are not going to work or school, or reporting criminal activity to police out of fear of deportation.
Sen. Anne Carney, D-Cape Elizabeth, said Wednesday that the bill is narrowly tailored.
“It addresses something very specific — Maine’s state and local law enforcement engaging in civil immigration enforcement when there is no criminal record and no criminal activity afoot,” she said. “Again, it only applies if there is nothing criminal about what’s happening in connection with the immigration enforcement action.”
