PORTLAND, Maine — Gov. Janet Mills (D) held a quick press conference Thursday morning at Portland City Hall as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement continued what it calls “Operation Catch of the Day” in Maine.
ICE announced Tuesday that it launched an immigration enforcement effort in the state. It is not clear exactly how many people ICE has detained in Maine so far. Some of the charges brought against those who have been detained include aggravated assault, false imprisonment and endangering the welfare of a child.
The Department of Homeland Security responded with a statement from Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin that sharply criticized Mills and other Maine officials:
“Governor Mills and her fellow sanctuary politicians in Maine have made it abundantly clear that they would rather stand with criminal illegal aliens than protect law-abiding American citizens. We have launched Operation Catch of the Day to target the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens in the state. On the first day of operations, we arrested illegal aliens convicted of aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and endangering the welfare of a child. Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, we are no longer allowing criminal illegal aliens to terrorize American citizens.”
Mills, speaking at City Hall, said she did not have a prepared statement but was there to get a briefing on what officials and organizations were hearing “on the ground” as reports spread about arrests involving people with criminal convictions and, she said, broader impacts that are now rippling through communities.
She said she was hearing “a lot of fear within the schools within the employment community,” and warned that businesses were already losing workers, including employees she described as being in the country “legally lawfully” with strong work records, and employers were worried about being able to carry on operations.
Mills also said she was hearing about a target list of 1,400 people, calling it “pretty broad,” and said she believed many of the people being detained or included on that list were family members living in Maine, people working in Maine, and people with children in the school system. including some she said have no criminal record. She described that as disruptive to children, businesses, schools, cities and towns, and said it was “pretty tough” for children to face the uncertainty of a parent being taken away.
She said she was not tracking incidents in real time and described the information coming in as anecdotal, adding that the police department and the mayors of Maine’s two major cities were receiving reports as well. Mills said people are using their phones to record incidents as long as they do not interfere or obstruct, describing those recordings as “a record of the event.”
Mills, who referenced her experience as a district attorney and as the state’s chief law enforcement officer, said Maine takes crime seriously, but said she did not sense there was a greater incident of crime among non-citizens than among citizens. She argued that what she was hearing in many cases was not focused on criminal convictions, but on people without criminal records being detained and pulled away from families.
She also criticized how enforcement is being carried out, saying, “my experience, you gotta get a judicial warrant to arrest somebody,” and argued that Maine law enforcement officers do not need to wear masks or hide their identity. She also criticized the idea of setting numbers, goals, or quotas, calling that “not very professional.”
At one point, as she discussed reports she said she was receiving, Mills referred to ICE as “special police.”
Mills said Maine law enforcement is not prohibited from coordinating with federal investigators on criminal investigations, but drew a distinction when it comes to “purely immigration enforcement,” saying state and local officers are not there to enforce federal immigration laws.
She also said groups including the ACLU have been clear that protests, if they occur, will be peaceful and intended to document events and exercise First Amendment rights and not to obstruct or interfere.
Mills said she believes people detained because of immigration status have a right to a hearing and a right to bond, and said she expects those rights will apply in Maine.
What Mills Said About President Trump
Mills was asked directly about President Trump and said, “I don’t have a message for the President today.”
She also suggested the federal focus on Maine fits a broader pattern, noting that President Trump has gone “to a lot of blue states, hasn’t he”, “Chicago Illinois, Los Angeles, California, and Minneapolis, Minnesota”, and said she would need to “ask federal officials why Maine was being targeted.”
