The Department of Homeland Security says the city of Portland and Cumberland and Hancock Counties are deliberately defying federal immigration laws.
DHS said it's providing the notice to more than 500 so-called "sanctuary jurisdictions" across the country. It's demanding the jurisdictions immediately revise their policies to comply with federal immigration laws.
In a statement, Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce said he expected the notice, which he received Thursday night.
"In early May, I had heard that any agency that didn’t sign up for the ICE 287(g) program for law enforcement and the jail, would be considered uncooperative with ICE," Joyce said.
The 287(g) program grants local police officers the authority to enforce certain aspects of federal immigration law. The town of Wells was the only municipality in Maine to have an active agreement under the program. But the town recently paused its agreement with ICE amid pushback from residents.
Several months ago, Cumberland County was among hundreds of cities and counties across the country that received a written notice warning of legal consequences if it did not comply with federal immigration policies.
"The document that was sent looks like the same document that I received in January with little or no changes made to it," Joyce said. "We are housing ICE inmates for ICE, so I am not sure how it can be claimed that we are not cooperating. With that said, we are not doing the work of ICE because we don’t have the expertise or authority to do so."
As of last week, Joyce said there were about 60 people in ICE custody at the Cumberland County Jail.
Hancock County did not immediately return a request for comment.
In a brief statement, Portland Mayor Mark Dion said the city learned Friday about the list of apparent "sanctuary jurisdictions."
"I am going to reserve commenting on Portland’s inclusion on this list until we receive a formal letter from Homeland Security that outlines specific facts supporting their assertion," Dion said.
The city of Portland has an ordinance directing staff and police officers not to ask about someone's immigration status in most situations, unless required by law or court order.
But Portland has never declared itself a sanctuary city, Dion previously told Maine Public. City code states that nothing in the ordinance prohibits staff and police officers from cooperating with federal immigration authorities when required by law.
President Trump signed an executive order in April requiring DHS and Justice officials to create a list of so-called "sanctuary jurisdictions" that they believe are obstructing federal immigration laws. According to the order, federal agencies are then supposed to identify and suspend grants or contracts to those jurisdictions.
There is no legal definition of a "sanctuary" jurisdiction, and the April executive order does not provide one.
