Editor’s note: This Jan. 24 live blog is no longer being updated. Click here for the Jan. 25 updates.
A surge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in Maine continued to unfold against the backdrop of another fatal shooting in Minneapolis, as members of the community continue to protest the presence of ICE agents in the state.
Six people were arrested in Portland Friday night, where many of the ICE arrests so far have taken place. Another anti-ICE demonstration drew 1,000 people Saturday afternoon in Lewiston, home to much of Maine’s immigrant population and the other primary focus of federal agents’ detention efforts this week.
Meanwhile, an ICE official reprimanded the Cumberland County sheriff for his recent criticism of the agency’s tactics, saying he “chose to turn on his law enforcement brethren and smear the brave men and women of ICE.” Earlier Friday, Sheriff Kevin Joyce confirmed that ICE removed dozens of federal detainees from the Cumberland County Jail in apparent retaliation for his remarks.
Read our updates from Friday here.
Here’s what else you need to know:
- ICE watchers in Maine say they were threatened by federal agents
- ICE detainees removed from Cumberland County Jail after sheriff’s criticism
- The Mainers detained by ICE
- ICE arrests 6 Biddeford, South Portland restaurant workers
- York County corrections officer arrested by ICE outside immigration appointment
- Masked agents detain civil engineer in Portland, leave his car running in the street with a smashed window
- Wife of detainee questions morality of ICE enforcement in Maine
- Lawyers, legal advocates march through downtown Portland to protest ICE arrests
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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5:50 p.m.: Susan Collins says Minnesota shooting ‘needs to be thoroughly and transparently investigated’
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, released a statement Saturday responding to the fatal shooting of a man by ICE agents in Minneapolis, saying the incident “needs to be thoroughly and transparently investigated to determine whether or not excessive force was used in a situation that may have been able to be diffused without violence.”
“This shooting further underscores the importance of equipping federal law enforcement agents with training and body cameras for their safety and the safety of the public,” Collins said in the statement. “I urge protestors to keep space between themselves and law enforcement and not to interfere with operations.”
Collins also said it’s critical that “ICE and other federal law enforcement agents recognize both the public’s right to protest and the highly charged situation they now face.”
— Staff report
4:10 p.m.: Gov Mills requests meeting with Trump after fatal ICE-related shooting in Minneapolis
Gov. Janet Mills issued a statement Saturday afternoon demanding that President Trump withdraw federal immigration agents from Maine, after a fatal shooting in Minneapolis earlier the same day.
Mills also requested a meeting with the president.
“I am requesting that the President of the United States meet with me so that I can demand in person that his Administration withdraw these untrained and reckless ICE agents in Maine and across the country who are stoking fear in communities, arresting legally present people, including law enforcement officials, and who pose a grave threat to public safety,” she said in the statement. “I call on Congress to immediately bring Secretary Noem before them for a public hearing and cut off any further funding for ICE until their lawless tactics and dangerous behavior cease.”
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said a 37-year-old man was killed but declined to identify him. He added that information about what led up to the shooting was limited.
Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that federal officers were conducting an operation as part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and fired “defensive shots” after a man with a handgun approached them and “violently resisted” when officers tried to disarm him. O’Hara said police believe the man was a “lawful gun owner with a permit to carry.”
Mills said she was appalled at the violence in Minneapolis.
“President Trump and Secretary Noem’s weaponization of Federal law enforcement against the people they are meant to serve is not only a grave violation of the Constitution, but a threat to the lives of law-abiding people in the cities and states they seek to occupy, including Maine,” she wrote.
She encouraged Mainers to continue to protest peacefully.
“I am proud of Maine people for standing up in peaceful protest across our state and I continue to encourage peaceful protest as we show the world that we will always stand up for our values – support for the rule of law, due process, compassion, integrity, and justice. ”
– Staff report
4 p.m.: Attendance down at high school sports event as immigrant families stay away out of fear
Participation was down at Saturday’s morning track meet at the University of Southern Maine in Gorham, which featured teams from Portland, South Portland, Deering and Cheverus high schools.
Athletes whose families immigrated to the United States make up a significant portion of the rosters for the Portland, South Portland and Deering teams. Those teams had a number of athletes missing the meet on Saturday, likely related to the immigration enforcement actions this week.
Andy Schmidt, whose daughter Nora is a freshman distance runner on the Portland track team, took a video of one of Nora’s teammates running a sprint event.
“I was happy to film this race for my friend, who was too scared to come see her daughter compete, even though their family is here legally,” Schmidt said. “I understand we need to enforce immigration laws, but it doesn’t need to be this cruel.”
Adam Ramsell, whose son Caleb is a senior sprinter and jumper on the South Portland track team, said “attendance was way down” at Saturday’s meet, but it could have been even lower.
He said Caleb was one of the students who gave rides to team members who come from immigrant families. That helped minimize the chances those athletes would be targeted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement while traveling to the meet, Ramsell said.
“It’s great to see kids stepping up, supporting and taking care of each other,” Ramsell said.
– Joe Lawlor
3:30 p.m.: ICE activities prompt cancelation of weekend puppet shows in Portland
Mayo Street Arts, a community performance venue in Portland’s East Bayside neighborhood, has canceled this weekend’s scheduled puppet shows due to ICE activities.
“We do not feel it is responsible to put international artists at risk,” the organization said in a Saturday afternoon email to members. “ICE is not welcome at MSA and we are implementing policies as best we can to keep our community and the artists that perform here safe.”
In the email, the center said it plans to reschedule the showings of The City That Slept, a story about a sleep-inducing deity wandering the streets of New York City by native New Zealander Tom Tuke, once circumstances in Portland have changed. Ticket holders will receive an email with specific instructions.
— Penny Overton
3 p.m.: American Legion allows ICE agents to park vehicles in its Scarborough parking lot
Reached at the post, which was in the midst of preparing for a luau celebration, American Legion Post 76 Commander Phil Caesar said he was allowing ICE agents who work at the Scarborough detention center next door to park personal vehicles in the post’s 15-space parking lot.
He said many of the agents appear to live in Scarborough and are veterans themselves.
It’s not like the two groups socialize or that members even talk, he said. It was all handled in one quick phone call, he said.
“They are a federal agency doing federally mandated work,” Caesar said. “We support ICE. That’s it.”
No one from the community or his own membership of a couple dozen have complained about the arrangement, he said.
Caesar said he thought Maine was wrong to refuse to follow federal immigration policies or interfere with ICE enforcement actions or condemn anyone for doing their job. That is why Caesar refused to allow protesters to stage an ICE protest in the post parking lot when asked last year, Caesar said.
Scarborough Democratic Town Councilor Jon Anderson said he is disappointed that the local American Legion post would allow its parking lot to be used by an organization whose recent actions violate people’s civil rights but not local residents who would exercise their free speech right to protest those violations.
Anderson said ICE’s use of the lot is proof the facility has expanded beyond its initial use as a transfer facility. In 2021, the town adopted a 2021 zoning ordinance to prevent any facility expansion, he said. Anderson said that he has asked the town manager to investigate if the facility is in violation of local zoning.
“If they’ve run out of space to park their cars, they’ve most likely expanded, which is exactly what the town took steps to avoid,” Anderson said. “Is the American Legion helping ICE violate our ordinance? I don’t know if there is such a thing as an accomplice to a zoning violation, but I would highly recommend the American Legion reconsider how they are using their land.”
— Penny Overton
1:50 p.m.: Maine’s congressional delegation begins to react to latest Minneapolis ICE-related shooting
Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, discussed the latest shooting on her way to speak at the Lewiston rally on Saturday.
“My heart goes out to the family of the individual shot by ICE,” Pingree said on a message she posted to Facebook. “We have a good idea that this will be yet another unjustified killing.”
She said she was pleased the Minneapolis police would be investigating the incident so it would not be dismissed by ICE.
Pingree is likely to talk about the incident when addressing the crowd in Lewiston. “I’m so proud of Mainers for standing up and fighting for the rule of law,” Pingree said. “ICE needs to get out of our state.”
— Penny Overton
1:45 p.m.: Anti-ICE rally in Lewiston draws 1,000 protesters to Kennedy Park
LEWISTON — About 1,000 people overflowed the Angora Grand Event Center to protest the surge in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in Lewiston and Maine this week.
Speaking at the protest were several local and state officials and candidates for office, including Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline; advocate and former Lewiston City Councilor Safiya Khalid; Portland Mayor Mark Dion; U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner; U.S. House District 2 candidates Matt Dunlap and Jordan Wood and gubernatorial candidates Hannah Pingree, Troy Jackson and Shenna Bellows.
Several religious leaders from Lewiston and beyond also spoke at the demonstration. Asked why she was at the rally, Lewiston resident Debbie Hillman said, “Things are terribly wrong and we need to get together.
“It’s not just one item that Trump has decided to pick, it’s this whole big umbrella of things and it’s frustrating and heartbreaking. This is emotional for me and I had to do something.”
Read the full story here.
— Joe Charpentier
11:15 a.m.: U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner ‘heartened’ by community opposition to ICE
U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner said he’s “heartened” to see the robust community opposition to a surge of federal immigration enforcement in Maine.
Earlier in the week, Platner urged residents to “actually fight back” against Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers through community organizing. He has accused ICE of terrorizing the community, rather than conducting a legitimate law enforcement operation.
On Friday night, hundreds of protesters marched along Congress Street and dozens of others beat on drums and blew whistles for the second straight night at hotels where ICE agents are believed to be staying.
“The rallies and the protests outside the hotels, of course, I support them immensely,” Platner said in an interview with the Press Herald on Saturday morning.
Platner said he’s proud of the rapid response teams that have formed organically in communities like Portland, Westbrook, Biddeford and Saco to record and document arrests being made by ICE agents and help people too fearful to leave their homes.
“The reason we’re seeing videos of these illegal arrests is because there are people on hand available to videotape them and then report what they’re witnessing,” Platner said. “People are doing this in their communities and then connecting with the greater networks. And I think that that’s something that we should all be proud of.”
Platner is seeking the Democratic nomination against two-term Gov. Janet Mills. The winner will take on Republican Sen. Susan Collins in the fall.
Platner is slated to speak at a rally in Lewiston this afternoon.
— Randy Billings
10:55 a.m.: More than 200 Maine faith leaders denounce ICE tactics
An open letter circulated by the Maine Council of Churches Friday condemned the tactics of ICE agents in the state. More than 200 faith leaders signed the letter, which called on ICE to end its targeting of immigrants and asylum seekers.
“Our sacred texts teach us to love the stranger and urge us toward empathy and welcome, not toward violence and bigotry,” the letter said. “Yet across our state, parents are afraid to pick up their children from school, workers are afraid to go to their jobs, and parishioners are afraid to walk home alone from worship services due to the discriminatory and unjust actions being perpetrated by ICE agents.
“This sort of terror is not welcome here. We denounce the current operation and call for its end.”
The letter encourages Mainers to report ICE activity to the statewide hotline, document incidents involving ICE agents and help the immigrant community access needed services.
— Staff report
10 a.m.: Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce offers advice to businesses dealing with “troubling” ICE disruption
The Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce said it has been closely following recent federal immigration enforcement activity and has heard concerns from members about how this activity is affecting their businesses.
“The manner and scope of recent immigration enforcement actions are disrupting workplaces, undermining economic stability, and adversely affecting the well-being of residents,” the organization said. “This includes members of our much-valued immigrant community, who play a significant role in the success and vitality of Greater Portland’s economy.”
Businesses rely on employees who are here legally to be able to work without unnecessary uncertainty or stress, it said.
Here is what it told its business members in an email sent out Friday night:
Businesses should designate one person to interact with ICE officers. Employee eligibility forms should be complete and securely stored. Mark non-public workplace spaces. Train front-line staff to refer agents to managers. Keep legal counsel information readily available.
Employees should carry valid immigration documents, know they have the right to stay silent and ask for a lawyer, and not to volunteer information or sign documents they do not understand.
If agents show up, stay calm and act professionally. Do not resist or obstruct officers. Limit agents’ access to public areas unless they have a judicial warrant signed by a judge. Consult a lawyer before providing documents or answering questions. Employers have three business days to respond to a notice of inspection for employee eligibility forms and related records.
“We will continue to support our members and serve as a voice for the Greater Portland business community,” the agency told its members. “In the meantime, we encourage open and constructive dialogue among federal, state, and local leaders.”
— Penny Overton
8:40 a.m.: Portland Police release the names of six arrested at Friday night’s anti-ICE protest in front of two hotels
Police made the disorderly conduct arrests of six protesters for blowing whistles, banging on drums and causing a disturbance in front of Residence Inn and the AC Hotel on Fore Street just before 11 p.m. They were part of a crowd of 40 people that the police say was making noise disruptive to hotel guests and refused to stop when ordered by police.
According to police, those arrested include: John Clark, 30, of Windham; Amelia Fleming, 26, of Nobleboro; Andrew Mantenieks, 25, of East Orland; Meghan Morrison, 28, of Portland; Samuel Pecor, 30, of Biddeford; and Savanah Roberge, 19, of Somersworth, N.H. They were taken to Cumberland County Jail.
Read the full story here.
— Penny Overton