Former Maine Center for Disease Control head and Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Nirav Shah blamed ICE raids for a reported January drop in retail revenue.
“The Maine Center for Economic Policy just put out some data on how economically impactful the January ICE raids were. What they found was disturbing. They found about a drop of about [sic] $3.4 million in retail activity in the parts of Maine that were the most affected by the raids,” said Shah in a social media video.
The Maine Center for Economy Policy findings claimed that the state’s economy suffered over a ten-day period during the short-lived ICE surge in the state and placed blame on law enforcement.
Shah used the findings to further his arguments against ICE raids and the enforcement of immigration law in the Maine.
The Center for Economic Policy said that they examined retail sales in the areas most heavily targeted by ICE from January 20-29.
On January 30, numerous businesses voluntarily shut down to protest against ICE, but it does not appear that the loss in sales voluntarily incurred through that protest would have factored into the Center’s findings.
According to the Center, 2,300 people were absent from work each day of the ICE surge, contributing to the reported negative economic effects.
The data could indicate that Maine houses so many illegal immigrants that it has an appreciable impact on the economy for them to stay home from work and stop shopping for just ten days.
Both Shah and the Center failed to consider the potential impact of left-wing anti-ICE rhetoric on the findings.
Gov. Janet Mills (D-Maine) previously accused ICE of arresting people based on factors like skin color, accents, or religion.
Left-wing claims that ICE would target citizens or legal immigrants simply because of their race could have convinced some Mainers to stay home when they should have had no fear of immigration enforcement.
The Center also blamed ICE for a reported 1,000 student per-day drop in school attendance during the surge. That naturally raises questions about just how much of Mainers’ skyrocketing property taxes are being used to educate children of people in the country illegally.
While fearmongering about negative economic consequences of ICE, both Shah and the Center ignored the fact that the surge led to the arrests of violent criminals, drug traffickers, and sex offenders, who are no longer on Maine’s streets.
