A Maine congresswoman is the latest to demand transparency from federal immigration officials after they arrested a parent outside a Portland school last week.
Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, sent a letter Tuesday asking U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for a “full accounting” of the arrest, including what agencies were involved, how they coordinated and their justification for making an arrest near a school.
The father was arrested by a group of men in black “police” vests Thursday morning after dropping off his child at Gerald E. Talbot Community School. They were driving unmarked vehicles and declined to tell a district administrator who they worked for, school officials said.
A day later, after school staff, parents and city leaders expressed feelings of fear and confusion surrounding the situation, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that ICE agents had arrested the man.
“We want to have a better explanation of what went wrong that day, what their process is,” Pingree said in an interview with the Press Herald on Tuesday. “This was traumatic to those who observed it and heard about it.”
The Portland City Council condemned the way officers arrested the man in a proclamation Monday night, while protesters have repeatedly called on the Cumberland County Jail to stop cooperating with ICE.
DHS officials did not immediately respond Tuesday to requests to discuss Pingree’s letter and other criticisms from Portland.
CONCERNS ABOUT LOCATIONS, MESSAGING
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement last week that no children were present when Denis Rivera Martinez, a citizen of Honduras, was detained.
The day before, Portland police had arrested Rivera Martinez on a class D domestic violence charge, but he was released after posting $100 bail.
Pingree said her office doesn’t have all the details of Rivera Martinez’s case, which has been referred to local prosecutors who said Monday that they still plan to bring the case to court.
Pingree said she’s more concerned with where the arrest occurred: near a public school, which under the Biden administration was considered a protected area from ICE. But when President Donald Trump returned to office on Jan. 20, his administration issued new guidance urging officers to use “common sense” but clarifying that there were no “bright line rules” on where they can work.
“They’re using practices that would normally not be considered allowable, or appropriate, or even ethical by a police officer because they’re trying to pick up a certain number of people every day,” Pingree said. “Why do they have to rush through a lot of these situations?”
The City Council’s proclamation Monday night condemns ICE officers for not identifying themselves and for arresting a man so close to a school, “recognizing such tactics as harmful to public trust, community safety, and constitutional protections.”
Councilors also asked that ICE agents be required to use badges and give notice when they’re about to operate in a certain place.
Portland Mayor Mark Dion said Friday that he’s concerned that messaging from federal immigration officials is becoming increasingly political.
In her statement last week, McLaughlin criticized city and police officials for not cooperating with ICE and not turning over the suspect to the federal agency.
McLaughlin said Portland’s “sanctuary policies” unfairly protect criminals, but Dion said her statement was missing important details about the apprehension.
“There’s one way to report facts that are objective,” Dion said. “It’s another thing to report facts and attach it to a political debate as to whether a city’s taking a policy position as a sanctuary city or not.”
He said the city has a “legitimate grievance,” like most communities, about how ICE agents conduct themselves in the city.
CALLS FROM PROTESTERS
Advocates from the group No ICE for ME have repeatedly asked Cumberland County to bar the jail from cooperating with immigration officials. Protestors gathered at the monthly board of commissioners meeting Monday night to renew their requests.
Cumberland County Jail holds some detainees for ICE. The jail stopped publicly reporting names and images of the ICE detainees at their site, which has concerned some advocates.
Sheriff Kevin Joyce said in July that officials made that change to comply with federal regulations after an attorney for the sheriff’s office was reviewing their obligations under a public records request. That regulation prevents the jail from disclosing information about detainees held by ICE.
Brendan McQuade, a member of No ICE for ME, said in an interview Tuesday that Monday’s meeting was tense. He said he and other protesters are frustrated that the commissioners aren’t considering action to end the jail’s agreement to accept ICE inmates.
