Covering Trump’s Second Term
President-elect Donald Trump made sweeping promises during his campaign. The BDN will be covering what those promises could mean for Mainers during Trump’s second term. We want to know how you think his administration will affect your life in Maine.
President-elect Donald Trump said Monday he will declare a national emergency and use the military to carry out his “mass deportation” pledge targeting immigrants who have violated the law.
Democratic-led jurisdictions across the country have vowed to continue their “sanctuary” policies from Trump’s first term to limit cooperation with the federal government, but Gov. Janet Mills’ office says she is waiting to assess things before pledging to fight or cooperate.
The Democratic governor has not yet received communication from the incoming Trump administration on any plans, spokesperson Ben Goodman said Monday. If Trump shares specific plans, then Mills “will review it, assess its impacts on Maine people and make a decision that she believes is in the best interest of the state and our people,” Goodman said.
“She will be guided by the same values that have defined her time as attorney general and as governor: standing up for the rule of law and protecting the constitutional rights of people in Maine,” Goodman added.
Before Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the Nov. 5 election to return to the White House, he vowed to carry out on the first day of his new term the “largest deportation program of criminals” in U.S. history.
He has not shared more specifics but affirmed as “TRUE!!!” on Monday a conservative activist’s social media post saying the Republican will “use military assets” and declare a national emergency to conduct the deportation program. It comes after his not-yet-fulfilled pledge to make Mexico pay for a new border wall.
Experts have said Trump may seek to remove not only undocumented immigrants and convicted criminals but also hundreds of thousands of immigrants from countries such as Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela who entered the U.S. legally under President Joe Biden-era programs but have not been granted asylum. Trump may also reportedly prioritize removing Chinese men who are of military age and living illegally in the U.S. because of national security concerns.
Maine State Police spokesperson Shannon Moss deferred to the governor’s office for comment. In Maine’s largest city of Portland, the Cumberland County Jail has not honored federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement requests to hold inmates beyond their release dates since 2017 under a policy implemented by Sheriff Kevin Joyce.
Joyce defended the policy as keeping taxpayers from paying for civil litigation if the jail was found to have held inmates for longer without probable cause. Federal courts have found the requests, known as detainers, do not carry the force of law, and sheriffs around the country have been ordered to pay tens of thousands of dollars in wrongful imprisonment lawsuits.
That change came as the first Trump administration ramped up immigration arrests throughout New England and used aggressive enforcement tactics not previously seen in Maine. Joyce said Monday his office otherwise continues to work with ICE as needed and that the jail currently is holding around three dozen inmates awaiting immigration-related orders.
“The reality is not that much will change in the world of [local] law enforcement,” Joyce said.
