PORTLAND, Maine — Portland Mayor Mark Dion and the City Council met in executive session Monday night, Jan. 26, to discuss whether the city should participate in a lawsuit supporting Minnesota and the Twin Cities in legal challenges tied to federal immigration enforcement, according to an update posted on the City of Portland’s website.
City officials said the discussion centered on whether Portland could support the case through an amicus filing. Dion said the request came via Boston’s legal department and involved State of Minnesota v. Noem, naming federal defendants including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Customs and Border Protection. The city said the request arrived too late for Portland to join an effort connected to a temporary restraining order, but officials discussed ways to show support going forward, including a resolution expected to be brought to the council next week tied to appellate litigation.
The lawsuit deliberations come as Portland leaders are also grappling with the local impact of stepped-up ICE activity in Maine. On Wednesday, Jan. 28, Governor Janet Mills attended a mayors’ roundtable in Portland with Dion and other municipal leaders focused on the ongoing operation, and Dion raised concerns that the next major fallout could be housing-related warning that detentions and lost income could drive a surge in evictions.
