Border Patrol agents arrested two Chinese men last month after emergency responders were called to help someone who had attempted suicide, public records reveal.
While responding to a property in South Paris on Feb. 18, a Paris police corporal called the agents to help translate because no one at the property spoke English, according to a police report obtained through a public records request.
Paris police Chief Mike Ward said in an interview Wednesday that the officer needed to communicate with potential witnesses during a life-or-death situation. A new state law slated to take effect in July, depending on when the legislative session ends, will bar that kind of coordination.
Ward said he’s still researching what the new law will mean for his department.
“This is not a common occurrence in Paris,” Ward said. “We’re not out to call Border Patrol to get people thrown out of the country. … We wanted to save a life.”
The law will limit police agencies from working with immigration officials and bar them from using Border Patrol and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for translation.
Immigrant rights advocates worry that even with the new law on the horizon, incidents like the one in South Paris will continue to discourage people from reaching out to Maine police agencies when they need help. A federal judge said in court last week that she was also concerned about a potential “chilling effect.”
The two men arrested by Border Patrol have been in the country since 2021 and 2023, according to court records. Their lawyer, Jenny Beverly, declined to comment.
In an arrest report for one of the two men, a Border Patrol agent wrote that they believed a third person, who was hospitalized for their injuries, was also in the country illegally. It’s unclear if they were later taken into federal custody.
A spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Thursday that he couldn’t immediately answer questions about the arrests because he needed approval from the Department of Homeland Security.
The Press Herald is not identifying the men because they have not been charged with any crime.
One of the men arrested spent nearly a week at the Fort Fairfield Border Patrol station before U.S. District Court Judge Stacey Neumann ordered his release. Neumann also ordered that the second man be released on Wednesday, after he spent more than two weeks in federal custody.
Although Neumann said the circumstances surrounding his arrest could not play a role in her decision, she wrote in a lengthy footnote that the man’s decision to call emergency services “suggests a commitment to civic responsibility and the preservation of life.”
Ward said before calling Border Patrol, the officer had not been immediately able to access technology to help translate. At some point, the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit arrived to help and conducted interviews using a translating app, but it’s not clear in records if that was before or after Paris police called in Border Patrol.
By the time Border Patrol arrived, Ward said, police had already connected with the property owner, who was out of town and spoke English.
A public records official for state police declined to provide reports on Tuesday because the local department is still investigating the incident.
Lisa Parisio, policy director for the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project in Maine, said relying on Border Patrol for translations “is a huge conflict and just truly, instantly, puts peoples’ rights and safety at risk.”
ILAP has several clients who don’t want to testify as victims, Parisio said, because of cases like the one in South Paris.
She said their clients are wary after police agencies contacted immigration authorities during dozens of traffic stops in the last year, including Maine State Police, which called immigration officials 63 times in a 10-month span. The agency announced in December that it would begin following the new law before it takes effect this summer.
“Tremendous damage has been done,” Parisio said. “And it’s public trust, but it’s also individual lives that have been completely disrupted, destroyed, by being handed over to Border Patrol and ICE in this environment.”
Michael Kebede, policy director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine, said incidents like the one in South Paris “illustrate the need for some interim measures.”
Kebede highlighted communities that have enacted new policies and ordinances similar to the new law, including Lewiston, where city councilors voted in favor of a related ordinance Tuesday night. The council will take up final passage at its next scheduled meeting.
IF YOU NEED HELP
IF YOU or someone you know is in immediate danger, dial 911.
FOR ASSISTANCE during a mental health crisis, call or text 888-568-1112. To call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, call 988 or chat online at 988lifeline.org.
FOR MORE SUPPORT, call the NAMI Maine Help Line at 800-464-5767 or email [email protected].
OTHER Maine resources for mental health, substance use disorder and other issues can be found by calling 211.
