Editor’s note: This Jan. 27 live blog is no longer being updated. Click here for the Jan. 28 updates.
As the federal immigration crackdown in Maine continues, gun rights advocates here and elsewhere have pushed back against the Trump administration’s assertion that Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti was a “domestic terrorist” for carrying a gun prior to his death at the hands of federal agents over the weekend.
Meanwhile, Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey has moved to join Minnesota’s lawsuit against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in an effort to halt increased activity by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other DHS agencies. Frey’s office also announced Monday that it has created a tip line where Mainers can report misconduct by federal agents.
A DHS spokesperson said Monday in a statement that more than 200 people have been detained statewide since the beginning of “Operation Catch of the Day” a week ago.
Read our updates from Monday here.
Here’s what else you need to know:
- Let us know what you think of immigration operations in Maine
- ICE has detained more than 200 people in Maine so far, feds say
- ICE arrested Angolan man on his way home from visiting newborn in the hospital, pastor says
- Asylum seeker detained by ICE on Friday had no criminal history in Maine, attorney says
- Portland schools consider remote learning options amid increased ICE activity
- The Mainers detained by ICE
- Empty vehicles, dropped calls: The eerie scenes as ICE came to Maine
Our journalists are working to verify sightings and report events as they happen. Have a tip? Fill out this form, reach us on Signal at PressHeraldTips.295 or email [email protected]. Tips are confidential.
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8:30 p.m. Portland to consider supporting Minnesota lawsuit against DHS
The Portland City Council is considering supporting a Minnesota lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other federal immigration agencies.
A federal judge in Minnesota heard arguments Monday morning regarding Minnesota’s request to temporarily halt Immigration and Customs Enforcement action while the court decides whether the activity has been constitutional. A ruling has not yet been issued.
The U.S. District Court judge overseeing the case has requested additional court filings from Trump administration lawyers by Wednesday.
Boston’s legal department contacted Portland Mayor Mark Dion last week to inquire about the city’s interest in joining an amicus brief in support of Minnesota, according to a news release from the city Tuesday night.
The council met in executive session on Monday “to discuss how to show support for Minnesota and the Twin Cities in their lawsuit,” Dion said in a statement.
“Unfortunately, the request for the city to join the amicus brief came too late for the council to join the action for a temporary restraining order directed at ICE enforcement activities in Minnesota,” the mayor said.
Dion said that a resolution may be brought before the council next week to allow the city “to support appellate litigation challenging unlawful immigration enforcement.”
Portland officials have been outspoken in opposition to the stepped up ICE presence in the city and elsewhere. Dion and members of the City Council held a news conference last week during which they questioned the need for increased immigration enforcement and criticized the aggressive tactics used.
Last week, Maine joined 19 other states asking to join Minnesota’s lawsuit. Since then, nearly 40 municipalities across the country have also joined in support of the suit, “in solidarity with the cities and people of the Twin Cities, as well as the state of Minnesota, and as representatives of millions of residents.”
— Andrew Rice and Drew Johnson
7:10 p.m. ‘Now it’s your turn’: Minneapolis school board chair addresses Portland school board, offers encouragement
Portland should be prepared for difficult times but ready to show its humanity, Minneapolis Board of Education Chair Collin Beachy told Portland’s Board of Public Education on Tuesday night.
Beachy said immigration enforcement in his city had affected schools. He described an ICE pursuit that ended at dismissal time outside of a district high school, where ICE agents mistook students for protesters, pepper sprayed a dozen of them, and tackled and arrested two teachers. He also mentioned several district students, including a 5-year-old, who were detained.
Beachy pointed to the large turnout at a protest amid freezing weather on Friday as a sign of hope.
“Now it’s your turn,” Beachy told Portland Board Chair Sarah Lentz and other board members. “Show us your strength, show us your determination, show us your community, show us Portland.”
He said Minneapolis schools have still been places of learning and care since the ICE operation began and offered encouragement to Portland as it faces a similar situation.
— Riley Board
5:55 p.m. Maine’s education commissioner speaks with her counterpart in Minnesota
Maine Commissioner of Education Pender Makin spoke with her counterpart in Minnesota, Commissioner Willie Jett, earlier this month to “gain an understanding of the scenarios that schools in that state have been observing, as it pertains to the presence of ICE,” a Department of Education spokesperson said Tuesday.
Makin shared advice, based on that conversation, with Maine superintendents from communities where ICE activity has been high. That included encouraging superintendents to update policies around interacting with immigration enforcement agents and communicate protocols with staff and telling them to prepare for possible staffing interruptions and potential student protest walk-outs.
Read the full story here.
— Riley Board
2:50 p.m. Portland police arrest 9 faith leaders at protest at Sen. Collins’ office
A “pray in” protest outside of Sen. Susan Collins’ office ended in Portland police arresting nine faith leaders for criminal trespassing Tuesday.
A group of about two dozen faith leaders sang their way into the elevators at 1 Canal Plaza in Portland around 12:30 p.m. and crowded into the hallway outside Collins’ eighth floor office.
The group, representing nearly 10 denominations, was there to urge Collins to call for an immediate end to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement campaign in Maine and to vote against a Department of Homeland Security funding bill that would provide further funding for ICE.
Portland police Maj. Jason King said the arrests were made after the protesters were given warnings to leave the hallway and small office following fire code concerns. While most left, nine stayed. King said they “asked to be arrested.”
When the protesters first arrived, there was some initial friction with Collins’ staff, with lead staffer Halsey Frank telling the crowd that the use of recording devices and blocking the hallway was “not acceptable.”
“We don’t find what’s happening in our streets right now acceptable,” a protester responded.
Three members of the group, including Christine Dyke, lead minister at First Parish Congregational Church in Gorham, had a short meeting with Frank, after which Dyke said they planned to stay until they received a response from Collins.
“We were kind and cordial as we spoke but very firm that we consider this cruel behavior and this is a moral imperative for us be here and speak,” she said.
Earlier, Dyke had told Frank that two members of her congregation have been detained by ICE in recent days.
“The people that are being removed are following the rules and are still being taken,” she said. “We need (Collins) to stand up and stand against (ICE). We need her to use her power today and tomorrow to make that change.”
Read the full story here.
— Andrew Rice
2:15 p.m.: Calls to ICE activity hotline slow down
Since a winter storm blanketed Maine with snow over the weekend, people have reported less ICE activity, according to the organizers of an ICE activity hotline.
While calls to the hotline spiked last week, organizers at the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition said they are still receiving calls about ICE sightings, but at slower rate than last week. The quieter start to the week comes days after officials at the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that more than 200 people had been arrested since ICE’s enhanced operation began last Tuesday.
Mufalo Chitam, the coalition’s executive director, said there was less reported ICE activity over the weekend, but it hasn’t stopped completely.
Chitam said volunteers are working to understand ICE tactics and patterns of increased enforcement. Even if there appear to be fewer apprehensions than last week, she said people are still seeing unmarked cars and agents patrolling their neighborhoods.
Read the full story here.
— Morgan Womack