Democrats in Maine’s Legislature put forward a bill that appears to be a thinly veiled attempt to hinder ICE from holding any detainees in the state’s jails under the guise of increasing access to facilities for Maine law enforcement.
Sen. Rachel Talbot-Ross (D-Cumberland) sponsored LD 2058, titled “An Act to Require Municipal and County Jails to Be Available at All Times for the Detention of Persons Arrested on Criminal Charges by Maine Law Enforcement Officers.”
Three Democratic lawmakers signed on as co-sponsors: Rep. Tavis Hasenfus (D-Cumberland) and Sens. Anne Beebe-Center (D-Knox) and Glenn Curry (D-Waldo).
A look at the text of the bill suggests that the title may be misleading. Based on just the title, it appears that the bill is expanding the responsibilities of municipal and county jails, while, in reality, it does the opposite.
Maine law already requires jails to be available for the detention of those arrested on criminal charges by Maine law enforcement.
“Current law requires municipal and county jails to be available at all times for detention of persons arrested by state or any other law enforcement officers,” says the bill summary.
Current law, which would be altered by the bill, requires jails to be open to house anyone arrested by law enforcement, whether state, local, or federal. Current law seemingly includes a requirement to house people arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a federal law enforcement agency.
The modified text of the law would reduce that responsibility to require jails to be available to house only people arrested on criminal charges by Maine law enforcement, essentially ending the requirement for jails to cooperate with ICE.
The misleading title will likely allow the sure-to-be controversial changes to pass through a potentially contentious public hearing period without drawing much attention.
The bill is set for a public hearing at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday.
