Federal immigration officials have stopped “enhanced operations” in Maine, where an enforcement surge last week brought hundreds of arrests, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said Thursday after conversations with Homeland Security leadership. Collins, a Republican, said the change followed what she described as direct discussions with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
In a statement, Collins said there were no plans for large-scale U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions in the state going forward. She said ICE and Border Patrol officials would continue what she described as “normal operations” that have been underway for years.
The announcement arrives as federal immigration enforcement has become a national flashpoint and as President Donald Trump signaled possible easing of tensions in Minneapolis after a second deadly shooting there by federal immigration agents. Collins’ decision came as lawmakers and local officials in Maine continued to press the administration for more information about the scope and basis of detentions.
Collins also framed her role as urging the administration to reconsider how immigration enforcement is carried out in Maine. She said she was urging the secretary and others in the administration to change ICE’s approach in the state, while making clear the activity would not shift into another large-scale operation.
Homeland Security said in a statement it would continue to enforce the law across the country “as we do every day,” according to the reporting. ICE, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security, said it performed its duties despite meeting resistance from demonstrators, but the statements did not address whether ICE was drawing down in Maine.
ICE Deputy Assistant Director Patricia Hyde cited what ICE described as the early performance of the operation, saying it displayed how effectively ICE officers can operate “anywhere and in any environment.” Collins’ statement came after the operation began more than a week earlier and after federal officials said the first day produced about 50 arrests, with roughly 1,400 people described as operational targets in Maine, a mostly rural state.
In Lewiston, one of the cities targeted by ICE, Mayor Carl Sheline welcomed what he described as a scale-down and criticized the impact of the enforcement. Sheline, who leads a city where the mayoral role must be nonpartisan, said ICE operations had failed to improve public safety and had caused lasting damage to communities, adding that the city would continue working to ensure people wrongfully detained are returned.
Court records and statements from people tied to detainees described a more mixed picture than federal officials’ public messaging. Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said last week that some Maine arrests involved people convicted of crimes including aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and endangering the welfare of a child, according to the reporting. The reporting also said court records showed that while some detainees had felony convictions, others were held while immigration cases remained unresolved or were arrested but never convicted of a crime.
The story highlighted the case of Elmara Correia, which federal authorities described as involving an earlier arrest for endangering the welfare of a child. Manuel Vemba, who has a four-year-old son with Correia, said the arrest involved a neighbor calling police after the boy played outside, and that he did not believe charges were brought. Vemba said Correia had no criminal record and described her as a mother. He said she had since sought a bail hearing and that a Massachusetts judge granted her request.
Collins’ decision also intersects with the politics of an election year. Collins faces reelection this year, and the reporting said she has not called for Noem to step down or be fired and has avoided criticizing ICE tactics beyond saying ICE should not target people in the U.S. legally. Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who announced her Senate candidacy in October, challenged immigration officials to provide judicial warrants, real-time arrest numbers, and basic information about who was detained in Maine, and said ICE must account for its actions even if it is scaling back.
Mills, according to the reporting, also accused Collins of governing “without any courage” shortly after Collins voted in favor of funding the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies Thursday. The reporting said a first-time Democratic candidate, Graham Platner, criticized both Mills and Collins on ICE handling and demanded the agency be dismantled, organizing a protest Thursday outside Collins’ office in Portland.
On Thursday, Maine’s debate continued as federal officials maintained their broader enforcement posture even as the state operation shifted. The stand-down leaves unresolved questions for critics who want further detail about detentions, legal justifications, and where people are held, even as “normal operations” were set to continue.