PORTLAND, Maine — Axios first reported that Gov. Janet Mills flew to California this week for a round of high-dollar campaign fundraisers just as federal immigration agents launched a major enforcement operation across Maine.
According to invitations reviewed by Axios, events were planned for San Francisco and Silicon Valley on Wednesday, with another fundraiser scheduled for Thursday in the East Bay. Axios also reported Mills ultimately cut her trip short and returned to Maine by Thursday morning, just in time to face growing backlash and mounting questions about the crackdown unfolding back home.
Mills addressed the operation at a Thursday press conference at Portland City Hall, where she criticized masked federal agents and referred to ICE as “secret police,” while demanding more transparency about who is being detained and why. In a separate written statement the same day, Mills said her administration was monitoring ICE activity and called on the federal government to produce warrants, warning that separating families who “have committed no crime” would “sow intimidation and fear.”
The enforcement effort, dubbed “Operation Catch of the Day” by federal officials, is targeting about 1,400 people in Maine, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Federal officials have highlighted arrests of people they describe as violent offenders, while local officials and immigrant advocates say some detainees appear to have legal status or no criminal history, a dispute that has fueled fear and political outrage in places like Portland and Lewiston.
The clash is quickly becoming political as Mills, a Democrat and former district attorney, leans into aggressive rhetoric against federal agents, drawing sharp pushback from Republicans and the Trump administration, who argue her approach shields people with criminal histories and undermines law enforcement. Mills and her allies have framed their objections around civil rights and due process, pressing for detailed arrest information and judicial warrants.
But the optics are brutal: as ICE moved in across Maine, Mills was thousands of miles away working the donor circuit, then rushed back just in time to unleash a press-conference broadside, branding federal agents “secret police” and demanding warrants and transparency. For a former district attorney, critics say it’s a sharp turn, prioritizing political posturing and shielding offenders over backing law enforcement and removing dangerous criminals from Maine communities.
The Maine Wire had an embedded ride along with ICE on Friday. The ride along was a behind the self scenes opportunity to see the details. planning, and coordination of the operation.
Click the link to see this reporters recap of the day.
