SCARBOROUGH, Maine – Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) is drawing fresh scrutiny after promoting the claim that legal residents in Maine were “picked up based solely on the color of their skin” during recent immigration enforcement activity.
In a social media post promoting her “People’s State of the Union,” Pingree said her guest would be “Jenny Beverly, an immigration lawyer from Maine,” and described what she called “truly horrific circumstances.” Among the claims included in the post: “Families ripped apart,” “Legal residents picked up based solely on the color of their skin,” and “People released into the freezing cold without adequate clothing.”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) responded by sending a statement directly to The Maine Wire, forcefully rejecting Pingree’s allegation and warning that rhetoric from “sanctuary politicians” is putting officers in danger.
“Allegations that ICE engages in ‘racial profiling’ are disgusting, reckless and categorically FALSE,” the statement reads. “A person’s immigration status makes them a target for enforcement, not their skin color, race or ethnicity. Law enforcement uses ‘reasonable suspicion’ to make arrests, as allowed under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”
The ICE statement also linked what it described as rising threats against officers to the “hateful conduct and rhetoric of sanctuary politicians,” claiming officers are facing a “1,300% increase in assaults,” a “3,200% increase in vehicular attacks against them,” and an “8,000% increase in death threats against them.”
This is not the first time Pingree has been publicly rebuked by federal immigration officials.
Pingree previously questioned whether lawyers were being allowed into the Scarborough, Maine facility, an assertion that drew pushback, with Tricia McLaughlin calling Pingree out.
The latest controversy follows a familiar pattern: Pingree amplifies a serious allegation, in this case, that legal residents were detained “solely” due to skin color, and federal officials respond with a categorical denial.
ICE’s message was unmistakable: Pingree’s racial-profiling allegation is “categorically FALSE,” and by pushing it anyway she’s smearing federal officers with a charge ICE says has no basis in fact.
