Gov. Janet Mills may well have given Maine Republicans, if they’re savvy enough to take advantage of it, a gift heading into an election year. She’s delayed acting on LD 1971, which would essentially prohibit state and local law enforcement agencies from cooperating with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement in civil immigration enforcement.

Regardless of how one defines the term “sanctuary state” — it’s a political term, not a legal one — this puts Maine a step closer to becoming one. Personally, I’d say this law would put us over the line.

As far as I’m concerned, any state that limits the ability of law enforcement to cooperate with ICE on immigration is a sanctuary state.

What’s interesting about this bill is the politics and the timing. It received no Republican votes in the Legislature save from Sen. Rick Bennett, who later announced he was running for governor as an independent. Mills could have vetoed it and it would have quickly died, thereby positioning herself closer to the center.

Sure, that would’ve drawn the ire of not only her progressive base but all the Democratic legislators who voted for it, but they’d have gotten over it. Progressives don’t have anyone substantive who could challenge her in a primary. As for Democratic legislators, Mills will still be governor next year, so they can’t just ignore her.

If Mills had signed it, she’d be totally embracing the left side of the immigration issue, which polls show Maine voters care about. That would alienate her from Republicans and independents, and it could be used as a cudgel not only against her, but against every Democratic legislator who voted for it. Instead, in an indecisive fashion that has been displayed time and time again over the years, Mills pushed it forward into the next year — an election year.

That’s what doesn’t make much sense. While the Legislature will have more time to debate the bill next session, they’ll be closer to an election — making it more fresh in voters’ minds. It may be that Mills would like to support some version of the bill, and wants to see it tweaked in some way, but she could have made that clear this year. She could’ve gotten a tweaked or completely watered-down version this year; instead she stayed out of it and pushed it forward when it got to her desk.

Regardless of Mills’ strategy, if she has one, she’s given Republicans a fantastic opportunity. Immigration is an issue where, even in Maine, voters largely agree with them over the Democrats. Just as they did with the budget because it contained tax increases, Republicans in the Legislature should make it absolutely and totally clear that they will never support any version of this bill, no matter what the specific language ends up becoming.

This bill tromps all over two core Republican principles: local control and enforcing immigration laws. It strips away the ability of local law enforcement to choose to cooperate with ICE on immigration, limiting their sovereignty.

Now, the state has the authority to do this. Local sovereignty is granted by the state and can be taken away by it. When it does, it’s called pre-emption, and as an advocate for small government it’s something I always oppose. I opposed it when the Legislature limited the ability of towns to use zoning to restrict housing a few years ago; I thought that should have been left up to the towns to decide. Unfortunately, it ended up passing with bipartisan support.

It also flies in the face of the long-standing Republican belief that the federal government ought to enforce immigration laws more strictly. One can argue for more open immigration laws, but we need to enforce what we have on the books. If you want open borders, fine: go ahead and sponsor the bill to change the laws. Don’t, however, fail to enforce the current laws, as various administrations have over the years.

Republicans should not only oppose this bill vociferously, they should offer an amendment to send it out to the voters as a referendum, forcing Democrats to vote against democracy. Then, if it does pass, they should immediately launch a serious, concerted effort to get the signatures for a people’s veto and put it on the ballot themselves.

Running a whole campaign around whether Maine is a sanctuary state — and putting illegal immigration on the ballot — is a dream come true for Republicans, and a nightmare for Democrats.