ICE Blasts Maine Sanctuary Policies: “Politicians Should Be Ashamed”

AUGUSTA, Maine – As Portland, Lewiston, and Bangor moved to restrict cooperation with federal immigration authorities, the political battle over immigration enforcement in Maine is rapidly escalating, with several Democratic gubernatorial candidates and some city elected officials openly criticizing ICE operations and aligning themselves with sanctuary-style policies that federal officials say undermine public safety.

Federal immigration officials are now warning that Maine’s political leadership is increasingly hostile toward immigration enforcement, creating dangerous divisions between local and federal law enforcement agencies.

In a statement provided to the Maine Wire on Monday, ICE sharply condemned Maine politicians backing restrictions on cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

“Sanctuary politicians in Maine have made it abundantly clear that they would rather stand with criminal illegal aliens than protect law-abiding Americans,” ICE said.

The agency accused local officials of making law enforcement operations more dangerous while turning agencies against one another.

“Pitting law enforcement against law enforcement like this is categorically disgusting and these politicians should be absolutely ashamed of themselves,” ICE added.

The growing divide comes as Maine’s largest cities continue advancing sanctuary-style policies.

In Portland, the City Council voted 7-1 earlier this month to strengthen restrictions on city employees assisting ICE except where legally required. The ordinance bars city employees from allowing ICE access to nonpublic city spaces for immigration enforcement and limits information-sharing tied to federal immigration operations.

Several Portland councilors acknowledged during debate that portions of the ordinance were largely symbolic or “performative,” but supporters argued the measure was necessary to push back against federal immigration enforcement tactics.

In Lewiston, city officials adopted an even broader ordinance prohibiting city employees from assisting or cooperating with immigration enforcement activities except where legally mandated. The policy also blocks municipal resources from being used to support immigration operations.

Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline previously warned residents about anticipated ICE activity during the height of “Operation Catch of the Day,” the large-scale federal immigration enforcement operation launched in Maine earlier this year.

In Bangor, the City Council voted 6-3 to begin early compliance with LD 1971, Maine’s statewide law limiting cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities before the law officially takes effect.

The sanctuary push accelerated after ICE launched “Operation Catch of the Day,” which DHS described as targeting the “worst of the worst” criminal illegal aliens operating in Maine.

According to federal officials, more than 100 individuals were detained during the operation while ICE identified roughly 1,400 potential immigration targets statewide.

The operation sparked fierce backlash from progressive activists and Democratic politicians across Maine.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dr. Nirav Shah publicly condemned ICE operations during a Lewiston campaign stop in January, calling federal enforcement tactics “dehumanizing” and encouraging residents to organize, support neighbors, and document encounters with ICE agents.

Shah has also called for reforms aimed at curtailing what he described as the “aggression” of ICE agents deployed into states during federal enforcement operations.

Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, another Democratic candidate for governor and former executive director of the ACLU of Maine, has built much of her political career around civil liberties activism and opposition to what supporters describe as government overreach. Bellows has received praise from progressive organizations for “defending the rights of marginalized people” and standing up against Trump-era policies.

Former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson has also aligned himself with progressive activists during the gubernatorial campaign and has criticized Trump administration policies on immigration and enforcement issues, though he has focused more broadly on labor and economic populism throughout the race.

Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers and conservatives in Maine have largely defended continued cooperation with ICE and federal immigration authorities.

Sen. Susan Collins (R) clarified earlier this year that although the enhanced enforcement surge had ended, normal ICE and Customs and Border Protection operations in Maine would continue “as they have been ongoing here for many years.”

Republicans in Augusta have increasingly argued that sanctuary-style policies and anti-ICE rhetoric are contributing to a broader deterioration in public safety and weakening cooperation between agencies responsible for removing violent offenders and individuals with deportation orders.

For many law enforcement officials, the battle unfolding in Maine now reflects a much larger ideological shift, one where progressive political activism is increasingly shaping public safety policy in some of the state’s largest cities.

And despite the growing political resistance, ICE operations in Maine continue quietly in the background, even as local governments move to distance themselves from federal immigration enforcement publicly.