Maine immigrant communities brace as ICE enforcement surge begins

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents launched an enforcement operation in Maine on Tuesday called Operation “Catch of the Day,” an apparent reference to the state’s seafood industry. The agency had identified approximately 1,400 targets in Maine and made 50 arrests on the first day, according to Patricia Hyde, the ICE deputy assistant director.

The operation marked the Trump administration’s expansion of mass deportation efforts to Maine, a state with a relatively small undocumented population but significant communities of African refugees. Portland and Lewiston are home to thousands of residents of African descent, with Maine having one of the nation’s highest Somali populations following accelerated immigration in the early 2000s.

The enforcement surge has ignited conflict between the Trump administration and Maine’s political leadership, exposing tensions between federal enforcement and state officials’ refusal to aid agency operations, while immigrant communities that include some of the nation’s largest Somali populations have mobilized networks to warn neighbors of ICE activity.

State and local officials resist enforcement approach

Democratic Gov. Janet Mills said Wednesday that if federal agents have warrants, they should show them, but if they are separating parents who have committed no crime from their children, they are “only sowing intimidation and fear and fostering division and suspicion among neighbors.”

Portland Mayor Mark Dion held a news conference Wednesday with other local officials to challenge the enforcement approach. “While we respect the law, we challenge the need for a paramilitary approach,” Dion said. “This council doesn’t stand apart from our immigrant communities, we stand with them.”

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said the state received a request from U.S. Customs and Border Protection for confidential, undercover Maine license plates but decided against issuing them. “These requests in light of rumors of ICE deployment to Maine and abuses of power in Minnesota and elsewhere raise concerns,” Bellows said. “We have not revoked existing plates but have paused issuance of new plates. We want to be assured that Maine plates will not be used for lawless purposes.”

Bellows, a Democrat who has repeatedly clashed with the Trump administration, said the decision reflected accountability concerns about how federal agents use state resources.

Community fear and school response

The enforcement surge has triggered widespread anxiety in immigrant communities. Portland Public Schools conducted a “lockout” at two schools Tuesday to prevent anyone from entering the building during the school day because of concerns about ICE activity in the area.

Pious Ali, a Portland city council member and native of Ghana, said the impact on schools has been severe. “Our schools have seen about a quarter of immigrants not showing up,” Ali said at a news conference. Many immigrants also fear going to work, he added.

“There are immigrants who work in our hospitals, they work in our schools, they work in our hotels, they are part of the economic engine of our community,” Ali said. “ICE agents don’t need to spread trauma by smashing doors and windows.”

Citizens in Portland have formed networks to alert neighborhoods to ICE enforcement activity. Portland Councilor Wes Pelletier said business owners, teachers and college students have shared information about enforcement operations, while volunteers have delivered groceries and diapers to families too afraid to leave their homes. “Every arrest feels like a wound to Portland,” Pelletier said.

Portland Public Schools said in a statement that it is developing an online learning plan for its students, more than half of whom are not white.

Federal authorities describe enforcement targets

Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin described the enforcement focus in a statement. “We have launched Operation Catch of the Day to target the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens in the state,” McLaughlin said. “On the first day of operations, we arrested illegal aliens convicted of aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and endangering the welfare of a child.”

U.S. Attorney Andrew Benson, a Trump appointee, joined Democrats in calling for any demonstrations in the state to remain peaceful and civil. Benson warned people to stay out of the agents’ way or be prosecuted.

Political divisions over federal enforcement

Maine’s political leaders have condemned the operation. Devon Murphy-Anderson, executive director of the Maine Democratic Party, issued a statement: “The Trump administration has deployed ICE agents to Portland, Lewiston, and possibly other Maine communities. This is not about public safety. It is about fear, control, and political theater.”

Maine Senate Leader Trey Stewart, a Republican, criticized the state’s decision to withhold undercover license plates. “That really, one, puts us at odds as a state,” Stewart said. “Puts us at one end of an extreme that we really shouldn’t be on.”

The Trump administration’s expansion of immigration enforcement to Maine represents the latest phase of a broader mass deportation campaign that has drawn scrutiny and resistance in other states, including Minnesota, where federal agents have faced escalating confrontations with demonstrators.