Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins says "enhanced" operations by Immigration and Custom Enforcement in Maine have ended.
In a news release, Collins says Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told her that the surge of ICE agents that began recently is over and that the agency will continue "normal operations that have been ongoing for many years."
"While the Department of Homeland Security does not confirm law enforcement operations, I can report that Secretary Noem has informed me that ICE has ended its enhanced activities in the State of Maine,” Collins said in the release. “There are currently no ongoing or planned large-scale ICE operations here."
The announcement comes after Collins asked Noem earlier this week to pause its surge in Maine and Minnesota, saying both operations were too sweeping and indiscriminate.
Collins told Maine Public on Wednesday that she had received multiple calls from constituents expressing fear and anger about the ICE operation because it was sweeping up people who are here legally.
ICE's surge has prompted fierce backlash over its tactics and conduct, which resulted in two agents shooting and killing two U.S. citizens protesting and monitoring its activities in Minnesota.
Noem has been heavily criticized for her role in those operations and her characterization of those who were killed by ICE agents. Last weekend's killing of Alex Pretti has intensified that criticism and congressional Democrats have called for Noem's impeachment. Two Republican U.S. Sens. Thom Tillis, of North Carolina, and Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska, have also called for her removal.
The backlash has also prompted calls from Democrats to halt funding to DHS, the umbrella agency for ICE, until more accountability measures are put in place. Collins, the leading Republican on the Senate budget committee, has said she's open to new proposals, but does not support halting funding for the agency because it also includes the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Coast Guard.
The controversy over the surge of ICE agents has also become a significant factor in Collins' re-election bid. The two leading Democrats vying to replace her, Gov. Janet Mills and Graham Platner, have heavily criticized Collins for not doing enough to curtail the operations and her support for continuing funding for DHS.
Collins' announcement about ICE operations in Maine was followed by an announcement by White House border czar Tom Homan that the agency would decrease the force deployed to Minnesota as long as officials there cooperate to assist in the apprehension of illegal immigrants with criminal records. Homan said much of that cooperation centers on jails and working with ICE to apprehend illegal immigrants there rather than on the streets.
"More (agents) in the jail means less people in the streets," he said.
Homan was dispatched to Minnesota to take over operations after ICE agents shot and killed Pretti. He said during a press conference Thursday that operations will target illegal immigrants with criminal records.
Homan was asked about a force drawdown in Maine, but he did not directly answer.
DHS did not immediately respond to a request to confirm Collins' announcement. The agency has not said how many additional agents it has deployed to Maine during the surge and it's unclear how many operate here during normal operations.
