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Home » News » News » Winthrop and Monmouth Back Out of ICE Partnership Program Citing Concerns About Legal Liability
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Winthrop and Monmouth Back Out of ICE Partnership Program Citing Concerns About Legal Liability

Seamus OthotBy Seamus OthotApril 21, 2025Updated:April 21, 202517 Comments2 Mins Read1K Views
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The Winthrop and Monmouth Police Departments both rescinded their applications for an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) partnership program on Saturday that would have allowed local police to detain people on suspected immigration violations.

[RELATED: Wells Police Department Becomes First Local Maine Law Enforcement Agency to Participate in ICE Program…]

“The Town of Winthrop has rescinded its application to participate in a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) program that uses local police officers to detain people suspected of being illegal immigrants due to the liabilities that could involve,” said the town in a statement on its website.

“Under the program, ICE would not reimburse the Town for officers’ time and overtime as they carried out federal functions nor for the related use of local resources such as patrol vehicles. ICE reserves the right to assign and/or collocate officers with ICE agents to assist with criminal investigations. That could divert officers from their local duties,” the town’s statement added.

Winthrop expressed concerns that participating in the program could lead to costly lawsuits against the town.

The towns would have joined Wells in ICE’s 287(g) program that allows a local department to serve “as a force multiplier for law enforcement agencies to exercise limited immigration authority with ICE oversight during their routine police duties.”

The program allows participating local departments to quickly deal with illegal immigrants without the delays involved in waiting for ICE agents to arrive.

While Winthrop and Monmouth appear to have distinct police departments, they are both headed by Chief Paul Ferland, and the decision to withdraw was made simultaneously for both towns. The towns are currently considering consolidating the departments.

Ferland claimed that the Monmouth department has encountered roughly a dozen illegal immigrants in the past 18 months.

The Maine Wire reached out to Ferland, asking whether he faced outside pressure to rescind the applications, but he did not immediately respond.

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Seamus Othot

Seamus Othot is a reporter for The Maine Wire. He grew up in New Hampshire, and graduated from The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts, where he was able to spend his time reading the great works of Western Civilization. He can be reached at seamus@themainewire.com

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<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="38219 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=38219">17 Comments

  1. Boxcar on April 21, 2025 4:19 PM

    Sounds to me Chief Ferland had a discussion with someone from the ACLU and/or someone from the democrat party, maybe Aaron “I’LL SLEEP WITH ANYONE…EVEN JANET MILLS” Frey?????

  2. Sam Brady on April 21, 2025 4:57 PM

    They (being the Chief Leo’s in each community ) are Cowards ….Plan and simple … Just come out and lick the Grease off the fingers of your BLM / Antifa , ACLU, NAACP Masters …

  3. Leslie on April 21, 2025 7:05 PM

    

  4. Olde Crone on April 21, 2025 7:34 PM

    Did somebody threaten someone’s pension plan?

  5. Giant Squirrel on April 22, 2025 1:42 AM

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  6. sandy on April 22, 2025 4:44 AM

    Both towns must have a lot of illegal activity going on. The citizens are afraid of sunshine. Drugs, illegal growhouses and huhman trafficing . Don’t a large number of State workers live there?

  7. Wooley Moose on April 22, 2025 5:19 AM

    These towns have departments that are a joke. They both have Chinese smuggling drugs right in their faces.

  8. getting played on April 22, 2025 6:06 AM

    cut federal funding! send in the federal prosecutor! aiding and abbeting criminals…. when do we playy hard ball daddy trump? where r u bam pondi! pretty faces are dei hires too!!

  9. getting played on April 22, 2025 6:11 AM

    remember the names of the cowards who bow to the maine democrats in the police forces.. police forces are full if these cowards.., they are the ones who wait in the hall way during school shottings, preserving thier own lives over others… they are the ones who got promoted the last 20 years!

  10. Bingo on April 22, 2025 6:44 AM

    Sounds like a good place to drop off illegals.

  11. Citizen on April 22, 2025 7:01 AM

    Sounds like good places not to be visiting.

  12. EdA on April 22, 2025 7:16 AM

    In my career, as I moved through the ranks, at each promotion I swore an oath; to the Constitution, to protect the citizenry and enforcement of the law. It appears that’s no longer the way, as a chief back then, I damn sure would do all I could to prevent illegals from harming the citizens that I swore to protect. I would rather face a factious law suit rather than having a mother lose a child to drugs, or a child being raped, robberies, assaults, deaths, etc. – who the hell do you think is coming into to this country illegally??? Obviously Chief you have no concept of what the Cartel is or how they operate, or how dangerous they are, hopefully the citizens of those communities wake up and find a law enforcement officer to protect them and their families rather then another useless politician – the badge stands for something – learn it.

  13. Waldo Otto on April 22, 2025 8:16 AM

    If these towns do not remove the criminals, they will have expenses for investigation of the crimes they comment, without ICE reimbursement, but endangering the town. What sense does it make not to remove these illegals? Democrat thinking.

  14. Crsig on April 22, 2025 9:38 AM

    If these police stations refuse to deal with illegals. The people will .

  15. Dilbert on April 22, 2025 4:40 PM

    Ease up on local LEOs – I know for a fact that they are active in this area on a regular basis. Maybe have a conversation with the town councils before you level accusations at law enforcement.

  16. Sarah kimber on April 22, 2025 8:57 PM

    I just started 3 weeks ago this web income system that my friend recommended to me and I’ve gotten 2 checks for a total of $9,200… this is the best decision I made in a long time! This extra t54551 cash has changed my life in so many ways, thank you!

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  17. Common Sense on April 23, 2025 10:38 AM

    The closer you get to Augusta the more progressive it gets ! There is likely a bureaucrat behind every tree in both those towns.

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