PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — President Donald Trump’s broad deportation drive has now turned its attention to Maine, a state with relatively few residents living in the country unlawfully, but whose largest cities host a notable refugee presence, particularly from Africa.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) named the operation “Day’s Catch,” a nod to Maine’s fishing industry, as it has done with other immigration campaigns, such as “Metro Surge” in Minnesota and “Midway Blitz” in Chicago.
Reports of an uptick in immigration arrests have stirred fear in immigrant communities in Portland and Lewiston, and have drawn a response from Governor Janet Mills and other Democrats, including a refusal to cooperate with ICE in masking vehicle identities by issuing undercover license plates.
“While we respect the law, we question the necessity of a paramilitary approach to enforcing federal statutes,” Portland Mayor Mark Dion said at a Wednesday press conference, flanked by other local officials. “This council does not turn its back on our immigrant communities; we stand with them.”
Portland and Lewiston are home to thousands of residents of African descent, many of them Somali.
Somali immigration to Maine accelerated in the early 2000s, and today the state has one of the highest shares of Somali residents in the country.
Now, the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents has caused considerable anxiety in Portland, said City Council member Pious Ali, a native of Ghana.
“In our schools, about a quarter of immigrants don’t show up,” Ali noted, adding that many are also afraid to go to work: “There are immigrants living here who work in our hospitals, work in our schools, work in our hotels; they are part of the engine that drives our economy.”
ICE agents do not need to spread trauma by breaking down doors and windows, he said: “The federal government has the ability to contact these people without unleashing fear in our communities.”
The immigration sweep is reaching Maine, a largely rural state of about 1.4 million residents, as confrontations between ICE agents and protesters continue in Minnesota, where the agency faces strong criticism after an officer fatally shot Renee Good.
ICE has not responded to requests for comment on its plans for Maine, but DHS noted in a statement that the increase in operations began on Tuesday.
“We have launched the Day’s Catch Operation to target the worst of the worst illegal criminals in the state. On the first day of operations, we arrested foreign nationals convicted of aggravated assault, unlawful detention, and endangering the welfare of a minor,” said DHS Deputy Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a statement.
Shenna Bellows, Maine’s secretary of state and a longtime Trump opponent, said state officials were approached by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) about obtaining confidential and undercover Maine license plates, which they decided not to issue. The plates are used on unmarked vehicles, and Bellows said she wants stronger assurances that they will be used properly.
The use of license plates by ICE in other states has raised concerns: Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias warned last year that swapping or altering license plates is illegal.
“In light of the rumors of ICE deployment in Maine and of abuses of power in Minnesota and elsewhere, these requests raise concerns. We have not rescinded existing plates, but we have suspended the issuance of new ones. We want to ensure Maine license plates aren’t used for illegal purposes,” Bellows stressed.
This isn’t Bellows’s first clash with Trump. In 2023 she tried to have his name removed from the state’s presidential ballot, arguing that Trump had engaged in insurrection in violation of the 14th Amendment. More recently, she has refused to hand over the state’s voter records to the federal government.
CBP did not respond to a request for comment, but a senior Maine Republican said withholding undercover plates would pose a public safety risk.
“That puts us at risk as a state. It puts us in a position we really shouldn’t be in,” said Senate Republican Leader Trey Stewart.
Maine’s top federal prosecutor, Andrew Benson, joined Democrats in urging that any protests remain peaceful and civil. Benson, who was appointed by Trump, warned the public not to interfere with the agents’ work or they would be prosecuted.
Mills, along with mayors, school district leaders, and numerous community organizations, has spoken out against the action. She affirmed that aggressive immigration enforcement that undermines civil rights is not welcome.
Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline said the ICE operation has caused “anxiety, fear, or uncertainty” among many community members.
“There is no evidence of rampant criminal activity in our community that would justify a heavy-handed federal presence,” Dion said.
Portland Public Schools, the state’s largest and most diverse district, said in a Wednesday statement that a “lockdown” was put in place at two schools to prevent entry to the buildings during Tuesday’s school day due to concerns about ICE activity nearby.
“It was quickly determined there was no threat to our school communities, and the lockdowns were lifted minutes later. This is a understandably tense moment in our community as reports and rumors of immigration raids intensify,” the district’s statement read.
Maine Democrats have condemned ICE activity.
“The Trump administration has deployed ICE agents in Portland, Lewiston and possibly other Maine communities. This isn’t about public safety. It’s about fear, control, and politics,” said Devon Murphy-Anderson, executive director of the Maine Democratic Party.
