The prospects of ramped-up federal immigration enforcement in Maine’s two largest cities elicited strong responses from state and local elected leaders that – not surprisingly – fell largely along partisan lines.
The political debate has focused, in part, on a new law blocking Maine police from working with federal agents on routine immigration enforcement. But those restrictions won’t kick in for months because Democratic Gov. Janet Mills delayed her initial decision on the bill.
ICE and Border Patrol agents arrested hundreds of immigrants in Maine during the first year of the Trump administration, a dramatic increase from previous years. But Democratic officials, including Mills, have expressed alarm about a potential surge of activity while accusing the Trump administration and heavily armed, often masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents of purposely provoking anger, traumatizing immigrants and violating civil rights.
“We will not stand by as ICE, CBP (Customs and Border Protection) or any other agency tries to terrorize our communities and unlawfully abduct our neighbors,” 1st District Congresswoman Chellie Pingree said in a video message from Capitol Hill.
Some Republicans wholeheartedly welcomed ICE agents to Maine. GOP gubernatorial hopeful Bobby Charles, for instance, took to the deserted streets of Lewiston at midnight to make his law-and-order pitch to ICE (and voters).
“As governor, I will very thoroughly welcome ICE and the DEA at surge capacity – and I will encourage them to come here, with the marshals, prior to our elections,” Charles said in the cellphone video as increasingly loud, ominous music plays in the background.
GOP legislative leaders have been beating the drum for weeks about suspected Medicaid fraud in Maine and drawing parallels to much larger-scale alleged fraud in Minnesota involving the Somali community. ICE has been targeting Somalis in Minneapolis. And Maine is on Trump’s radar because he has mentioned potential fraud a few times.
This week, Republican legislative leaders blamed Mills and Democrats for the tense situation over potential ICE activity.
“The governor just gave her full-throated support to legislation that handcuffs our local law enforcement from cooperating and coordinating with federal immigration authorities,” said Senate Republican Leader Trey Stewart of Presque Isle. “Now she claims to have attempted to contact them to get details of a potential upcoming operation. The hypocrisy of that cannot be understated.”
Controversial new immigration enforcement law delayed
Stewart is referring to one of the most hotly debated bills of last year’s legislative session – a measure that restricts how much local law enforcement can cooperate with federal immigration agents. The controversial bill, LD 1971, passed the Maine House by a single vote last June.
But Mills didn’t give it her “full-throated support,” as Stewart and other Republicans are now suggesting. Instead, she held onto the bill for more than six months because she viewed it as “overly broad and confusing.”
A former prosecutor and attorney general, Mills also suggested the bill created an overly complicated legal landscape that police would have to navigate trying to figure out when they could or couldn’t collaborate with federal immigration agents. The Maine State Police, the Maine Sheriff’s Association and the Maine Chiefs of Police Association all opposed the bill.
Yet Mills ultimately allowed it to become law without her signature earlier this week. Explaining her decision in a Portland Press Herald op-ed, Mills suggested her concerns about the bill were overridden by a Trump administration that “has targeted all immigrants with a carelessness and cruelty that ignores due process and that ignites terror in our communities.”
“LD 1971 is imperfect, and we should not need it, but the times call for it,” Mills wrote. “We cannot turn a blind eye to ICE’s unacceptable actions, and so I have chosen to allow LD 1971 to become law.”
But because of the quirky way this all played out, the new law won’t take effect until 90 days after the Legislature adjourns – which would be mid-July, if lawmakers stick to their calendar. In other words, it doesn’t apply to police agencies in Maine today, although Portland police are already restricted under city code from cooperating with ICE. And Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline said this week that police in that city “do not enforce federal law.”
The bill’s sponsor, Democratic Rep. Deca Dhalac of South Portland, declined an interview request on Thursday. Mills’ office referred us back to her December op-ed when asked about the delay.
In a statement released last month, Dhalac said she appreciated Mills allowing the bill to become law but added: “I am disappointed that she decided to wait this long. When the Legislature enacted this bill last June, we made it clear that defining the boundaries between state law enforcement and federal immigration authorities was critical to safeguarding our communities.”
Three governors, three competing orders on immigration
This is the latest episode of a decades-old political debate in Maine.
In fact, the past three governors have all signed or rescinded executive orders dealing with how much police officers and state employees can interact with the feds on immigration enforcement.
In 2004, Democratic Gov. John Baldacci issued an executive order prohibiting all law enforcement officers within state agencies from inquiring about a person’s immigration status “unless investigating or prosecuting illegal activity other than mere status as an undocumented alien.”
On his first day in office in January 2011, Republican Gov. Paul LePage used his own executive authority to rescind Baldacci’s order. Instead, LePage ordered all state employees to cooperate with federal officials “on all matters pertinent to immigration.”
But Mills rescinded LePage’s 2011 executive order last month with her own order declaring that “the resources of Maine state government must not be used to promote or support these abhorrent policies and tactics” of the Trump administration.
Whether Mills’ current policy and the new law restricting police interaction with federal agents stays on the books will likely depend on which party wins the governor’s office and control of the legislative chambers in November.
Big money flowing to some candidates
Speaking of the 2026 elections . . . there are now 10 Republicans, six Democrats and five independents running for governor. While 21 sounds like a lot of candidates (because it is), it’s almost exactly the same number as were running at this point eight years ago.
It is still too early to say who is leading the Democratic or Republican competitions this far out from the June 9th primaries. But campaign fundraising can show which campaigns are generating interest among donors, which is one gauge of momentum. The important caveat, of course, is that having the biggest campaign warchest does NOT guarantee victory in Maine.
But the latest, six-month fundraising and spending reports were due Thursday night. So here are some highlights:
Among Republicans, Jonathan Bush reported the biggest haul of $964,000. Bush also loaned himself an additional $376,500. Bobby Charles raised the second-largest amount at $544,000 followed by David Jones with $440,000 plus more than $100,000 in “in-kind” donations largely from himself. They were followed by Owen McCarthy ($336,000), Ben Midgley ($251,000), Robert Wessels ($41,000) and Kenneth Capron ($3,500). Garrett Mason just joined the race this month and did not report any fundraising yet.
Hannah Pingree has received the most contributions to date among the Democratic candidates at $1.4 million. Shenna Bellows also broke the seven-figure mark with just over $1 million raised. They were followed by Angus King III ($908,000), Troy Jackson ($644,000) and Nirav Shah ($510,000).
Among the independents, Rick Bennett reported $529,000 in contributions so far while John Glowa reported $180. The five independent or unenrolled candidates do not have to compete in a primary, although they are required to gather more petition signatures to qualify for the fall ballot.
Republicans James Libby and David Foster as well as independents Edward Crockett and Derek Levasseur are running as “clean elections” candidates using Maine’s public campaign financing program.
Platner and wife get personal
Graham Platner, the Democrat whose U.S. Senate candidacy caught fire over the summer, is bringing his personal life into a very public campaign.
The latest example is he and his wife’s decision to go public with their struggle to start a family – and to incorporate that very personal decision into his campaign.
In a video posted on social media, Platner and his wife, Amy Gertner, announced that they are going to Norway so that she could receive in vitro fertilization, or IVF, after exhausting all other options here. They said one round of the procedure costs about $5,500 in Norway versus $25,000 in Maine. Even when you factor in plane tickets and other expenses, Platner said, the costs are “incomparable.”
“Not to get political, but it’s a real indication of how flawed our health care system is,” Platner said. “For us, this Senate campaign is a way of making sure that other people do not have to go through the exact same things as we’ve gone through – where we can help build power in order to go get things that working people need in this country, like a universal health care system that provides fertility support.”
The couple received thousands of expressions of support, including one from Platner’s biggest rival in the Democratic primary.
“Wishing @grahamformaine and his wife, Amy, the best as they pursue IVF, and I hope they find success every step of the way,” Gov. Janet Mills said on X.
