Maine’s Democrat-controlled legislature easily passed a bill that will cement the state’s status as a sanctuary jurisdiction for illegal alien criminals and restrict state, county, and local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities.
The bill (LD 1971) was introduced by Rep. Deqa Dhalac (D-South Portland), a former Somali refugee who has previously worked for the controversial immigrant services agency, Gateway Community Services.
The bill in question will severely restrict the activities of state and local police when it comes to cooperating with the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Both agencies fall under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Under the bill, Maine law enforcement agencies are prohibited from using agency funds or personnel to investigate, interrogate, detain, detect, stop, arrest, or search individuals for immigration enforcement purposes, including:
- Inquiring into a person’s immigration status.
- Detaining a person solely based on a hold request from an immigration authority.
- Providing non-public information about a person’s release date or personal details (e.g., home or work address) to immigration authorities.
- Making arrests based solely on a hold request.
- Assisting immigration authorities in activities under 8 U.S.C. § 1357(a)(3) (federal immigration enforcement powers).
- Performing the functions of an immigration authority.
In addition, Maine law enforcement agencies would be banned from placing officers under federal supervision or employing officers deputized as federal immigration officers for immigration enforcement.
Transferring a person to an immigration authority would also be barred unless authorized by a court order or criminal warrant, as opposed to the civil warrants that are more common when federal immigration agencies are looking to enforce the law against an illegal alien.
Although Democratic lawmakers made an attempt to amend and water down Dhalac’s original proposal, the bill that will head to Gov. Janet Mills’ (D) desk is a copy-and-paste product of the Maine ACLU.
In their advocacy for restricting Maine law enforcement via LD 1971, the Maine ACLU accused President Donald Trump of “terrorizing immigrants.”
“Through anti-immigrant policies, threats to withhold or cancel federal funding, and a ‘mass deportation’ agenda, the Trump administration is terrorizing immigrants and those perceived to be immigrants, regardless of their legal status,” said Maine ACLU’s Molly Rowles.
“And targeting and terrorizing our neighbors and friends is unjust, unlawful, and wrong,” she said.
According to the left-wing Maine ACLU, increased enforcement of American immigration laws could lead to fewer low-wage workers available to fill service and tourism jobs, jobs primarily found in the predominantly blue coastal areas of Maine.
Both the House and the Senate held largely party-line votes, with the exceptions of Sen. Rick Bennett (R-Oxford), who joined Democrats to vote in favor of the bill, and Rep. Dani O’Halloran (D-Brewer), who voted against the bill in a narrow 74-73 vote.
Click here to read the House roll-call vote and the Senate roll-call vote.
