Luis, an Ecuadorian asylum seeker who owns a contracting company in Maine, said he was on his way to a job in the town of Oxford in early April when he was involved in a minor traffic accident.
Luis, who asked to be identified only by his first name given his ongoing immigration case, said an Oxford police officer checked his license and insurance information, and asked for the address of the jobsite he was headed to.
"I gave all the information to him," Luis said. "I gave him the name of the customer, and he told me, 'Okay, you're free to go.'"
But shortly after that, Luis said the police arrived at the jobsite and arrested him. He said the officer told him it was a request from Border Patrol.
A Homeland Security document relating the encounter says Luis presented a valid New Jersey driver's license and had no criminal record, but because he said he was from Ecuador, the local officer called Border Patrol to verify his immigration status.
The Border Patrol agent "determined that the subject was illegally in the United States," despite the fact that Luis says he has a pending asylum claim, something he's been pursuing for over a decade.
He was eventually transferred to ICE custody in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
After living in the U.S. for over a decade, starting a business, and trying to follow the rules, Luis said it was jarring to suddenly find himself in jail.
"After all these things, they treat us like criminals," he said.
Luis' arrest comes at a time of heightened scrutiny of the the relationship between local and federal law enforcement in Maine. When the Wells Police Department entered a now-paused agreement with ICE, it generated fierce pushback and drew statewide attention.
At the same time, though, many other state and local law enforcement agencies are informally cooperating with federal immigration authorities, often by calling Border Patrol following traffic stops.
Luis' lawyer, Shaan Chatterjee, said Luis' case reflects President Trump's escalating immigration crackdown.
"It's so unusual, or at least it was before the current administration, for someone who was already in immigration court, had a pending asylum claim, had been going to their hearings, to be suddenly just put into custody by immigration," Chatterjee said.
Chatterjee, who's based in Massachusetts, said Luis' arrest also fits a growing pattern he's seen among his clients from Maine.
"I'm seeing this happen so often in Maine now, where there's no other discernible reason why someone was referred to immigration other than just their appearance," he said.
Lisa Parisio, with the Portland-based Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, said her group is also seeing more frequent examples immigration arrests resulting from traffic violations like speeding or having snow on their roof.
"Even for being a bystander," she said. "Somebody was handed over to immigration officers by local law enforcement because they had stopped to help somebody at a traffic accident."
Parisio said the Trump administration is relying on this type of informal cooperation to achieve its mass deportation goals.
"The only way that they are going to be able to do that is by getting the resources of state and local law enforcement and having our taxpayer dollars and our public safety resources diverted to doing that," she said.
This week, the state legislature is debating a bill that would generally prohibit state and local law enforcement from stopping, interrogating, or detaining someone based on immigration status alone. It would also require a court order or criminal warrant in order to transfer someone into the custody of federal immigration agencies.
Parisio and other supporters say the goal is to keep local law enforcement focused on local issues.
But opponents, including state Rep. Jennifer Poirier, R-Skowhegan, have raised public safety concerns.
"This bill makes Maine less safe," Poirier said during a floor debate in the Statehouse this week. "Limiting law enforcement's ability to cooperate with ICE prevents them from addressing individuals who could pose real risks."
Since his release from ICE custody last month, Luis said he's been scrambling to restart his contracting business after losing most of his clients during his unexpected incarceration. He said ICE also fitted him with an ankle monitor and requires him to stay within a roughly 70-mile radius of his home, which he said makes it harder to find new clients.
Adding to his financial pressures, he said several of his relatives have also landed in ICE custody, and he's trying to come up with the money to pay for lawyers and secure bond.
Luis said after his arrest, it feels risky to get out on the road, but that he and other immigrant workers have no other choice.
"We have to pay the bills," he said. "We know it's a lot of risk to get out [on the road], but we have to continue working."
He said had it not been for the Oxford police officer's call to Border Patrol, his life would not have been turned upside down.
The Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Luis' next court date is scheduled for September.
