Maine lawmakers will hear testimony Thursday on a proposal that could make it more difficult for federal immigration agents to operate in Maine.

Rep. Ellie Sato, D-Gorham, introduced a bill, LD 2106, that would ban certain officials from allowing immigration enforcement officers into non-public areas of their facilities. The bill would apply to anyone acting on behalf of a public school, health care or child care facility or public library. Sato’s proposal would also bar people from allowing agents to access, review or obtain student, patient or library records.

The bill has an emergency clause to take effect immediately if signed into law. It allows for exceptions if agents have a valid judicial warrant. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in various states have controversially used administrative warrants that are not signed by judges to claim the power to detain people or enter homes and buildings.

Sato introduced the bill on Jan. 7 — before federal immigration enforcement agents started targeting the Portland and Lewiston areas last week under what President Donald Trump’s administration dubbed “Operation Catch of the Day.”

ICE activity and demonstrations against it have intensified since agents officially launched the operation, which officials said is focused on arresting about 1,400 people in Maine who face criminal charges and are in the country illegally. But people who have no criminal records and who have legal status in the U.S. have been among the 200-plus people detained so far, and, in some cases, transferred to detention facilities outside of Maine.

Protests in Maine have not turned as chaotic or violent as those in Minnesota, where federal agents fatally shot two protesters this month amid ICE operations in the Twin Cities. But the debate over Sato’s bill is taking on greater importance given the recent immigration operations here.

This is not the first ICE-related measure that members of the Democratic-controlled Legislature have introduced in recent months. The 10-member Legislative Council declined in November to allow consideration of a bill from Rep. Grayson Lookner, D-Portland, that would have blocked federal agents and police officers from wearing masks that conceal their identities.

Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, also allowed a controversial bill sponsored last year by Rep. Deqa Dhalac, D-South Portland, to become law without her signature. That measure limits local and state law enforcement from working with federal immigration enforcement officers in many cases. Though it is not slated to take effect until this summer, Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck has directed Maine State Police to implement the underlying policies of the law.

Sato’s proposal would direct the attorney general’s office to draft model policies by Jan. 1, 2027, and require groups to adopt policies six months after that.

The Judiciary Committee is scheduled to start a public hearing on the bill at 1 p.m. Thursday, with staff noting a “large turnout” is expected. Testimony for and against the measure will be heard in two-hour blocks. Online testimony will begin after in-person public comment is complete.

A live stream of the Judiciary Committee hearing will be available at legislature.maine.gov/committee/#Committees/JUD.