We started hearing whispers about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents descending on Maine last weekend.
ICE agents would flood Portland and Lewiston as soon as Tuesday to conduct “forceful entry” operations, according to one tip sent to the Portland Press Herald that cited internal communications in the state Department of Health and Human Services. Our cities were potentially about to become the next Minneapolis, or Chicago.
The suggested raids have not yet materialized, but Democratic leaders such as Gov. Janet Mills, Portland Mayor Mark Dion and Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline began issuing statements Wednesday on how they were preparing for operations to begin in the near future. They urged residents to know their rights and asked protesters to remain peaceful.
No one appeared to know the exact origin of the tips, with Mills saying she made an unsuccessful attempt to confirm any plans with federal officials and Dion saying he spoke to someone at the “congressional level” who indicated ICE is planning to send agents to Portland. The federal government has not shared more details.
But all week, Maine was stuck in a state of fear and paranoia. Neighbors in online groups discussed potential sightings of ICE agents at apartment complexes in the Portland area and an arrest of an immigrant in Biddeford. A caller contacted the Press Herald newsroom on Thursday to claim ICE agents were in Portland at Waynflete School and Reiche Elementary School, but that also turned out to not be the case — at least not that our reporters on the scene could see.
The uncertainty coincided with Trump threatening to send the military to quash anti-ICE protests in Minneapolis after a federal agent killed a woman there last week.
It also came as the Trump administration shared its intent to end the Temporary Protected Status humanitarian program for Somali immigrants in the U.S. amid fraud investigations tied to Somalis in Minnesota and Maine.
The unease felt by immigrant communities that have settled in Maine’s two largest cities has manifested itself in different ways.
A parent at Reiche Community School in Portland’s West End shared how she drove her neighbors’ kids to school Monday morning because their parents, who speak Spanish, were scared to stand with their children at the bus stop or walk them to class. A Lewiston property manager told the Bangor Daily News how undocumented parents are receiving forms to designate temporary guardians for their kids in case they are arrested.
Restaurants and companies from Portland to Bath described making sure employees with immigrant backgrounds had their legal paperwork in order. A volunteer with the Maine ICE Watch Hotline said it has seen a surge in calls over the past week.
The presence of ICE in Maine is not new, but what was different about the latest reports is how the looming surge in Portland or Lewiston would purportedly be larger than past ones in the state. ICE reported a spike in Maine apprehensions in the past year, with 230 people detained between January and mid-October, per the Deportation Data Project.
The data indicated 20% of those ICE detainees in Maine had a criminal conviction and 35% had no criminal record, while 43% had pending criminal charges.
With the next steps uncertain and rumors continuing to circulate, immigrants and advocates in Maine described taking no chances as they prepared for ICE encounters.
Ifraax Saciid-Ciise, founder of IFKA Community Services, a Lewiston-based organization that supports immigrant women, was among those who said immigrants and U.S.-born citizens alike are afraid the color of their skin, their accents and their choice to wear hijabs could make them targets of ICE agents.
“I’ve spoken to a lot of public officials, and they are saying there is not much they can do to impede ICE, that they have the right to be here and follow their federal orders,” Saciid-Ciise said. “It feels like a total lack of support.”
Have a tip? Reach us on Signal at PressHeraldTips.295 or email [email protected].
