Portland Public School officials say they are upset and seeking answers after a parent was detained outside Talbot elementary school Thursday morning.
School board chair Sarah Lentz said at a press conference Friday that the officers were wearing vests that said "police" but refused to identify themselves to school staff.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed in a written statement Friday evening that ICE agents arrested Denis Rivera Martinez, of Honduras.
DHS Assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Martinez had been arrested the day before by Portland Police on domestic violence charges.
"ICE had to make this arrest at large in the community because Portland authorities do not cooperate with ICE," McLaughlin said, “ICE is not conducting enforcement operations at, or ‘raiding,’ schools. ICE is not going to schools to make arrests of children."
Martinez is currently being held at Cumberland County Jail, according to ICE's online detainee locator system.
Lentz said the arrest has sent a ripple of fear through the community, that is likely to have repercussions for families in the district.
"This is the first one that has been so close to school during a school day and really impacting the environment in a different way," she said. "So yes, we do anticipate attendance rates to go down and for people to hold their kids at home."
Superintendent Ryan Scallon said in a letter to parents and staff that it comes at a time when many in the school community are increasingly worried about ICE activity in Portland.
