AUGUSTA — Gov. Janet Mills on Thursday seized on reports of “yet another killing” in Minnesota involving federal immigration agents to launch a blistering political broadside at President Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, accusing the administration of “weaponizing” federal law enforcement and demanding that ICE be pulled out of Maine and the rest of the country.
In a statement issued by the Governor’s Office, Mills said she was “appalled and heartbroken” by reports of the Minnesota incident, then claimed the Trump administration’s use of federal law enforcement is “not only a grave violation of the Constitution,” but “a threat to the lives of law-abiding people” in places the administration “seek[s] to occupy,” including Maine.
Mills went further, calling ICE agents “untrained and reckless” and claiming they are “stoking fear in communities” and “arresting legally present people,” including law enforcement officials. She said those agents “pose a grave threat to public safety.”
The governor said she is requesting a meeting with the president so she can “demand in person” that his administration withdraw ICE agents in Maine and nationwide.
Mills also urged Congress to “immediately bring Secretary Noem” before lawmakers for a public hearing — and to “cut off any further funding for ICE” until what she described as “lawless tactics and dangerous behavior” cease.
She closed by praising Maine residents for “standing up in peaceful protest” across the state and said she would continue to encourage peaceful protest in support of “the rule of law, due process, compassion, integrity, and justice.”
