Rep. Drew Gattine is a member of the Legislature representing parts of Westbrook, Scarborough and Saco.

My mom died about five years ago in the early days of the pandemic. I still think about her every day. 

She needed a lot of daily help in the final years of her life and I spent many hours with her in the caring community where she lived, a place where older people lived together and got the assistance they needed as they aged. My visits were not just about time with my mom. They were about the people who cared for her every single day.

The aides who kept her company and helped her with things she couldn’t do on her own. The nurses who checked on her late at night. The kitchen and housekeeping staff who made sure she was comfortable, clean and treated with dignity. I came to know them, to trust them, and to depend on them.

Many of them are new Mainers.

Recently, I returned to that same community for a different reason. I was there to introduce my friend, former Speaker of the Maine House and candidate for governor, Hannah Pingree.

I have heard Hannah speak many times. This conversation felt different. Residents and staff were not asking abstract political questions. They were scared. They wanted to know what the escalating ICE activity in Maine would mean for their co-workers, their neighbors and the people who keep places like this running.

Hannah did not dodge those questions. She listened carefully. She answered plainly. She acknowledged the fear in the room and spoke with clarity about what the state can do, and must do, to protect people and keep essential services running. You could feel the relief as she treated their concerns with the seriousness they deserve.

Those fears are well founded.

Across Maine, and especially in communities like Westbrook, where I live, immigrants make up a critical part of the workforce. In health care alone, new Mainers serve as CNAs, nurses, dietary aides and support staff. They care for our parents and grandparents. They fill jobs that simply would not be filled otherwise.

Now, because of the aggressive and reckless ICE surge, many of these workers are being pushed into fear and hiding. Maine Medical Center has reported a sharp increase in people not showing up for shifts. The Maine State Nurses Association has warned about the strain this is putting on an already fragile health care system.

When caregivers are afraid to go to work, older Mainers suffer. Families suffer. Communities suffer.

Let us be clear. This ICE surge has nothing to do with public safety. Despite repeated claims, these actions are not focused on violent criminals. They are intended to create fear in our communities and are targeting hardworking people with jobs, families and deep roots in Maine.

Families are being terrorized. Schools and workplaces are being disrupted. Towns across Maine are being destabilized.

All of this is happening while Republicans in Washington are actively undermining our health care system by refusing to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies. Instead of strengthening care for seniors and families, federal policies are making it harder to staff facilities safely and humanely.

That is not law and order. It is cruelty.

As a legislator representing Westbrook, I see every day how much my city depends on new Mainers. They are our neighbors. Their children attend school with ours. They worship here, shop here and contribute to our economy. An attack on them is an attack on the fabric of our community.

In moments like this, leadership matters. We need leaders who are willing to stand up, not stay silent. To say “ICE out of Maine!”

Hannah Pingree has proven she can do exactly that. As speaker of the House, she delivered results. She worked across the aisle when it helped Maine. She dug in when our values were under threat.

Hannah also helped create the Office of New Americans because she understands a basic truth. Welcoming immigrants and helping them succeed is essential to Maine’s future.

At a time of severe workforce shortages, her leadership helped build real systems for workforce training, credentialing and integration. These are practical solutions rooted in dignity, not fear.

Maine needs a governor who will push back against a harmful and unjust ICE surge. We need a governor who will protect at-risk communities and stand up for the workers who care for our loved ones. For people like my mother. For her caregivers. And for communities like Westbrook across this state.

I am proud to support Hannah Pingree, and I hope you will join me in voting for her in the Democratic primary this June.