Maine’s Republican Sen. Susan Collins announced Thursday morning that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has “ceased its enhanced operations in the State of Maine” after about a week.
But the Department of Homeland Security would not confirm whether “Operation Catch of the Day” had ended.
Portland and Lewiston mayors urged residents to remain vigilant. By the afternoon, immigration lawyers said they had seen a drop in requests for help by people arrested in Maine.
Federal officials have arrested more than 200 people in Maine since launching the enhanced operation on Jan. 20 and said they have more than 1,400 targets in the state.
Collins called on the Trump administration Tuesday to pause the immigration enforcement action in Maine and Minnesota, where two protesters have been killed by federal agents, after facing days of mounting pressure to speak out.
The Maine operation is part of the Trump administration’s effort to target “the worst of the worst” criminals residing in the U.S. illegally. But state officials and families say that some people with misdemeanors or no criminal records were apprehended during this operation, including asylum seekers, an 18-year-old student, a civil engineer and a corrections officer.
Dozens of businesses plan to participate in a nationwide shutdown Friday in protest by closing their doors or donating sales to organizations that support the immigrant community. Portland students are also planning a strike.
Read our updates from Wednesday here.
Here’s what else you need to know:
- Susan Collins says enhanced ICE operations in Maine have ended
- Susan Collins says ICE operations in Maine, Minnesota should be paused
- ICE reports in Maine slow after spike last week, immigrant advocates say
- Feds gave judge in Maine wrong whereabouts of man arrested by Border Patrol
- Maine schools react to increased ICE enforcement
- Lawyers say it is harder for Mainers arrested by ICE to get bond hearings
- As ICE operations in Maine continue, neighbors step in to feed each other
- Let us know what you think of immigration operations in Maine
- The Mainers detained by ICE
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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4:30 p.m. Maine Attorney General is investigating 15 tips about potential violations by federal agents
Spokesperson Danna Hayes said Thursday that the attorney general’s office is reviewing 15 credible tips sent this week to an email inbox where people can report constitutional and civil rights violations by federal agents in Maine.
The office launched the tip line Monday, when Attorney General Aaron Frey urged residents to send information about “intimidating or excessive behavior used by federal agents” to [email protected]. Frey’s office made the announcement after the second fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen by a federal agent amid an enforcement surge in Minnesota.
“With the federal government now surging federal agents into Maine under the banner of immigration enforcement, evidence of constitutionally-deficient, excessive, and intimidating enforcement tactics is quickly emerging in our own state,” Frey’s office wrote in a statement.
Tips should include dates, times, locations and contact information for those involved, the attorney general’s office wrote. The tip line is not accepting photos and videos, though Frey asked tipsters to note if the incident was documented.
Emails to the tip line are not necessarily private, Frey noted, and may be subject to public records laws.
Hayes did not answer other questions about the reported violations.
— Megan Gray
4 p.m.: DHS won’t confirm whether Maine operation is over
Federal officials would not confirm on Thursday whether “Operation Catch of the Day” has ceased.
The Department of Homeland Security claims it arrested over 200 people last week. When asked if any arrests occurred after Jan. 24, a spokesperson for the department said “DHS will continue to enforce the law across the country, as we do every day.”
The Portland Press Herald has requested a comprehensive list of people arrested by federal immigration enforcement agents in Maine since the operation began last week, including a total number of people detained this week.
In their reply, the spokesperson included information on the same four people who are on the department’s “worst of the worst” list detained in Maine last week as DHS has in previous correspondences.
— Morgan Womack, Drew Johnson
3 p.m.: Portland students plan strike instead of walkout
Student organizers in Portland announced on social media that they plan to participate in Friday’s national shutdown day in protest of immigration enforcement by not attending school at all, rather than through the walkout they had previously planned for Friday morning.
“Following Susan Collins’ announcement regarding the pullback of Immigration and Customs Enforcement from Maine, we have determined a slightly different course of action to participate in the nationwide shutdown and protest against ICE,” an Instagram post about the update reads.
Organizers encouraged students to participate in the larger 3 p.m protest in Monument Square if they’re interested in getting involved.
— Riley Board
2:25 p.m. Immigration lawyers see drop in requests for help by people arrested by ICE in Maine
The Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project in Maine said in a press release Thursday that it’s seeing fewer requests for help from people who have been arrested by ICE in Maine.
According to the press release, the organization has received more than 60 submissions to its online form from people seeking help for family and loved ones detained by ICE.
The organization said in the press release that it hopes ICE’s enhanced operation has ended, but encourages people to be cautious and aware that ICE and Border Patrol enforcement hasn’t necessarily ended. Immigration lawyers are also urging people to know their rights and reach out to the organization immediately if someone is arrested by ICE.
“The need for urgent legal and other assistance for impacted families and communities remains,” Sue Roche, the organization’s executive director, said in a statement. “ILAP and partners are working to secure the freedom of people swept up by ICE over the past week, which includes mostly asylum seekers with no criminal records who were racially profiled and taken from their cars and off the streets.”
— Morgan Womack
1:30 p.m. Portland mayor tells residents to ‘remain vigilant’ as officials look to confirm end of ICE campaign
Portland Mayor Mark Dion said the reported end of the large-scale U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement campaign in Maine “does not make up for the damage already done” and that there are still many unanswered questions.
Following the announcement from U.S. Sen. Susan Collins that ICE has ended what the agency dubbed “Operation Catch of the Day,” Dion said it will “continue to have lasting effects for many of our residents.”
“I want to recognize our residents for quickly and loudly speaking out against the actions of ICE in our community, and for all the ways in which they banded together to support those most affected,” he said. “I believe their collective work is what got us to this point.”
He said Thursday that he’s still trying to independently verify that the operation is indeed ending.
“That being said, even if it is true that ICE will no longer be conducting a major operation here, it does not make up for the damage already done – the constitutional rights that were violated, the families torn apart, and the many questions that remain unanswered.”
Dion said the announcement also “does not mean that ICE agents are completely gone, and so I would encourage our community to remain vigilant and continue to look out for one another.”
Dion’s comments mirror those made by immigrant advocates and other officials as they work to confirm the Department of Homeland Security’s plans in Maine.
A press release issued earlier Thursday said ICE agents arrested 206 people in Maine from Jan. 20-24.
— Andrew Rice
12:45 p.m. ICE confirms 206 arrests in first week of operation, blames activists for interrupting agents
ICE agents arrested 206 people in Maine between Jan. 20 to 24, according to a press release issued Thursday.
The enhanced enforcement operation “targeted egregious criminal alien offenders,” the release stated, though the agency stopped short of saying everyone arrested had criminal records.
Patricia Hyde, the agency’s deputy assistant director, said in a statement that ICE agents operated effectively “despite organized efforts from activist groups, radical politicians and protesters to thwart our activities.”
“On a few occasions, ICE officers were forced to pull away from criminal alien targets because of activists alerting the public to unmarked ICE vehicles. One such target was a known drug trafficker,” the release stated.
— Morgan Womack
12:10 p.m.: Nurses union to host vigils for Alex Pretti in Portland, Bangor
The Maine nurses’ union is hosting two candlelight vigils in memory of Alex Pretti, the Minnesota nurse who was shot to death by immigration enforcement officers on Jan. 24.
There will be a candlelight vigil 6 p.m. on Friday at the Western Promenade in Portland near Maine Medical Center and also at 5 p.m. on Friday at the federal building in Bangor at 202 Harlow St. The vigils are part of a series of weeklong events across the country commemorating Pretti and organized by the National Nurses United union, the parent organization for the Maine State Nurses Association union.
“Pretti’s death will not be in vain,” according to a statement on the National Nurses United website. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement “messed with the wrong profession. We nurses will fight to abolish ICE.”
Pretti was the second American killed by immigration officers in Minnesota this month. Renee Good was shot in her car on Jan. 7 by an ICE agent.
— Joe Lawlor
11:55 a.m. Susan Collins praises DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, defends ICE
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins on Thursday praised Kristi Noem, the embattled secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, for ending a surge of federal immigration enforcement in Maine over the last week after hearing her concerns.
Collins announced on Thursday morning that, after a series of conversations, Noem agreed to halt the aggressive enforcement push, dubbed “Operation Catch of the Day,” while continuing normal enforcement operations.
Collins said the operation lacked a justification, was “far too indiscriminate” and caused “a lot of fear and anxiety” in the community.
“I’m delighted with her responsiveness, and that she really listened to the concerns that I raised,” Collins said of Noem in an interview on WVOM.
She returned to Noem, who she voted to confirm, later in the eight-minute interview.
“Again, I want to emphasize that the secretary was very responsive in our conversations and other communications that we had,” she said.
Collins’ support for Noem comes as Democrats, including Gov. Janet Mills, and even some Republicans have called for her resignation.
Collins was careful to emphasize that normal immigration enforcement by ICE and Border Control would continue.
“I do want to assure everyone that the normal operations that ICE and border patrol do, which are important to public safety, will continue, but not this enhanced sweep, which was far too indiscriminate,” she said.
“Certainly ICE and border patrol play incredibly important roles in detaining and deporting individuals who are here unlawfully and have criminal records,” she added. “In addition, ICE and border patrol play very important roles in helping to prevent drug smuggling and the operations of transnational criminal organizations.”
Graham Platner, a political newcomer running for the Democratic nomination, has called for ICE to be “dismantled.”
— Randy Billings
11:45 a.m.: ACLU urges residents to continue taking action despite reports that ICE operation is winding down
A spokesperson for the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine says the organization is glad to see that “ICE’s dangerous operation in Maine may be winding down,” but cautioned that the agency may “re-escalate their presence” at any time, per federal law.
“ICE’s indiscriminate and unconstitutional approach to enforcing immigration law has placed our community in fear and harmed many Maine residents throughout the past year – before as well as during the recent surge,” ACLU communications director Samuel Crankshaw said in a statement.
The organization is encouraging people to contact their members of Congress to demand cuts to ICE funding. Crankshaw also said everyone in Maine should learn about their rights when protesting or encountering federal agents.
— Morgan Womack
11:30 a.m.: Cumberland County sheriff says he’s waiting to see if ICE operation ceases
Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce said in an emailed statement Thursday that “time will tell” if ICE’s enhanced operation in Maine will cease.
The sheriff criticized the agency’s tactics in a press conference last week, after one of his corrections officers was detained by ICE in Portland. He called their actions “bush-league policing” and questioned the intentions of the Trump administration’s priorities.
“I heard ICE was going to target criminal aliens and secure the borders,” Joyce said in the emailed statement. “We have seen that clearly isn’t the case. So I will wait to see.”
— Morgan Womack
10:46 a.m.: Mills says Mainers ‘deserve to know’ more information about detentions
Gov. Janet Mills said Thursday that the federal government needs to provide key information about all 200-plus people who have been detained in recent days. Like others, she said many appear to be living in the United States legally and do not have a criminal record.
“The reported end of ICE’s ‘enhanced operation’ in Maine does not end the pain and suffering that they have inflicted on communities across our state — people who have been terrorized, mothers who have been separated from their children, businesses who have been threatened, all by their own government,” Mills said in a written statement.
She reiterated her call for the removal of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and the rejection of a major funding bill that would include money for ICE.
“Until there are substantive measures and changes in place, no state — including Maine — is protected from the weaponization of Federal law enforcement agencies against its own citizens by the Trump Administration,” she said.
— Megan Gray
10:45 a.m.: Community organizers skeptical of whether ICE operation has ceased
Brendan McQuade, a University of Southern Maine associate professor and one of the founding members of the No ICE for ME campaign, said Thursday morning that organizers are cautiously optimistic, but remain skeptical of whether federal agents will cease their enhanced enforcement in Maine.
He said hearing Collins’ statement that normal operations remain ongoing “leaves the door open” for continued operations. Even prior the surge in ICE agents coming to Maine, he said, people who are not criminals were still being detained by ICE.
During a press conference Thursday, Trump’s border czar Tom Homan emphasized that local jails should cooperate with ICE if they have someone in custody who may be facing an immigration violation. McQuade said that’s why No ICE for ME spent several months protesting the Cumberland County Jail’s cooperation with ICE — because federal agents rely on county jails to help carry out “aggressive, unnecessary” enforcement.
— Morgan Womack
10:10 a.m.: Greater Portland high school students plan walk out Friday, joining national movement
High school students from Portland are planning to walk out of class on Friday in protest of Immigration and Custom Enforcement activities in Maine and Minnesota.
The walkout aligns with a nationwide shutdown movement, which calls on people across the U.S. to strike from work and school in protest of ICE. Other Maine high schools including Lewiston, Gorham and Yarmouth are also organizing walkouts for the same day.
Students from public Portland High School, the charter school Baxter Academy and private Waynflete will walk out of class at 10:45 a.m. Friday and march to Congress Square.
“Immigrants across the country have been irreversibly affected, regardless of their legal status,” an Instagram post announcing the walkout reads. “The immigrant community is vital to Portland, and this is a chance for student allies to stand up for their peers.”
A similar walkout in December — organized in response to the detention of two Portland students, before the latest large-scale ICE operation in the state — drew more than 500 students to the steps of City Hall.
— Riley Board
9:46 a.m.: Trump’s border czar says ‘drawdown’ of immigration agents is possible in Minnesota
Border czar Tom Homan said during a press conference in Minneapolis Thursday morning that federal officials are working on a “drawdown” plan for immigration agents in Minnesota, but did not specifically answer a reporter’s question about what this means for Maine.
He said withdrawing federal immigration agents from Minnesota is dependent on cooperation from state officials.
Homan emphasized several times that immigration agents will still be conducting “targeted” enforcement, with a priority on apprehending people with prior criminal history. But people who are living in the country illegally are “never off the table,” he said during the press conference.
Federal officials from ICE and DHS did not respond to questions Thursday morning about whether ICE has ceased its operation in Maine.
—Morgan Womack
9:45 a.m.: Graham Platner mocks Susan Collins at Portland rally
U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner mocked Sen. Susan Collins at a rally Thursday morning outside her Portland offices.
Collins announced that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem assured her that the surge of federal immigration enforcement that began last Tuesday had ended, though regular enforcement activities would continue.
Platner criticized Collins for accepting a “pinky promise” from Noem, who he said cannot be trusted.
Noem and other administration officials have offered questionable accounts of a fatal shooting of a protester in Minnesota that has been contradicted by video evidence.
“I don’t believe it,” Platner told dozens of protesters. “I don’t take the word of an administration that continues to break the law. I don’t take the word of an administration that continues to stomp our constitutional rights. We need to see material change.”
Platner’s campaign announced the “emergency” rallies outside of Collins’ offices in Portland and Bangor on Wednesday afternoon.
Platner said he planned to speak with Collins’ staff in-person at both offices Thursday and tell her to vote against giving additional funding for the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
As federal agents’ aggressive and violent tactics have drawn criticism in Minnesota and Maine, Collins has continued to support another round of funding, saying it includes money for body-worn cameras and training.
The Senate is expected to vote on the bill by the end of the week.
— Randy Billings
9:30 a.m.: U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree says end of ‘Operation Catch of the Day’ does not assuage concerns about immigration enforcement
U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree said she was not able to independently confirm the announcement this morning that the Department of Homeland Security has ended its targeted campaign in Maine.
“If these enhanced operations have in fact ceased, that may reduce the visible federal presence in our state,” Pingree said in a written statement. “But I think it is important that people understand what we saw during this operation: individuals who are legally allowed to be in the United States, whether by lawful presence or an authorized period of stay, following the rules, and being detained anyway.”
“That is not limited to this one operation. That has been the pattern of this Administration’s immigration enforcement over the past year, and there is no indication that policy has changed.”
Pingree said immigration officials have not responded to requests from her office or Sen. Angus King’s office for more information about “Operation Catch of the Day.”
“I continue to seek a full accounting from DHS of who was detained, what their immigration status was, and where they are currently located,” Pingree said. “Until those answers are provided, serious questions remain about how this Department is operating in our state and what Mainers should expect going forward.”
Spokespeople for King and U.S. Rep. Jared Golden had not yet responded to questions Thursday morning about the announcement.
—Megan Gray
9:03 a.m.: Director of immigrants rights group tells community to ‘stay put’ until confirmation
Mufalo Chitam, executive director of the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition, said the update was confusing. She said she is worried that targeted operations will still continue in Maine because ICE agents initially came to the state with a list of 1,400 people to apprehend.
For now, she is cautioning the community to “stay put” while the organization confirms what this news means.
—Morgan Womack
8 a.m.: Portland and Lewiston mayors react and urge continued vigilance
Portland Mayor Mark Dion said Thursday morning he was still trying to confirm the news with Sen. Collins’ staff.
“If it’s true, it’s great news for the state of Maine, however we need to do the work to confirm that it is the case.”
Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline also said he welcomed the news, if it’s true.
“ICE operations in Maine have failed to improve public safety and have caused lasting damage to our communities,” he said in a written statement. “We will continue working to ensure that those who were wrongfully detained by ICE are returned to us.”
Sheline added that although the advanced operation might be over, residents should remember that immigration enforcement will continue.
“We need to remain vigilant, continue to check on our neighbors, and take common sense steps to keep ourselves safe,” he said.
— Andrew Rice
6:31 a.m.: ICE ends immigration surge in Maine
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has reportedly ended its surge in Maine.
Sen. Susan Collins said Thursday morning that ICE has “ceased its enhanced operations in the State of Maine” one week after federal officials launched “Operation Catch of the Day.”
The Department of Homeland Security does not confirm law enforcement operations, Collins said in a statement, but “there are currently no ongoing or planned large-scale ICE operations here.”
The intensified immigration effort, meant to target the “worst of the worst,” has resulted in more than 200 arrests so far. Federal officials said they had a list of more than 1,400 targets in Maine.
Collins said ICE and Border Patrol will continue their normal operations in the state.
— Hannah LaClaire