More than 200 people gathered in the freezing cold Sunday afternoon to declare that federal immigrations and customs enforcement agents aren’t welcome in the Queen City.
The protest, held in Bangor’s Peirce Park and organized by the Maine Party for Socialism and Liberation, follows a federal immigration crackdown in the state that began Tuesday and has mostly centered around Portland and Lewiston, larger cities with notable Somali immigrant populations.
ICE has detained about 100 people so far, as of Friday, as part of a surge it’s calling “Operation Catch of the Day. The Trump administration has claimed the operation is targeting the “worst of the worst” criminals, although agents have also detained numerous immigrants with work permits and no criminal record.
Demonstrators in Bangor joined the ranks of larger protests in Portland and Lewiston earlier this weekend and raised fears that federal immigration authorities could soon send the surge further north. A similar protest was also scheduled Sunday afternoon in Calais.
Speakers mourned Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old nurse who was fatally shot by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis Saturday, and others who have been killed by ICE agents or died in the agency’s custody.
“If we do not act, tomorrow it could be one of us, or a neighbor right here in Bangor,” City Councilor Michael Beck told the crowd. “We do not need ICE in this community. We do not want ICE in this community.”
Beck said he planned to introduce ordinances to Bangor’s city council that would limit the use of city resources by federal immigration forces.
He told the Bangor Daily News he was inspired by local government actions in Minneapolis to limit ICE activities. The city’s mayor, Jacob Frey, signed an executive order last month barring federal agencies from using city-owned parking lots, ramps, garages or vacant lots to stage immigration enforcement operations.
Bangor’s Advisory Committee on Racial Equity, Inclusion and Human Rights proposed this fall that the city bar local police from entering any official agreements with ICE. A watered down version of the statement failed to pass a council vote.
Other speakers included two candidates for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District seat, State Sen. Joe Baldacci and social worker Paige Loud, as well as a representative from the University of Maine’s Students for a Democratic Society.
The student, Mo Drammeh, demanded that the university put protections in place against ICE activity on campus, including warning students if it learns ICE is coming to the school, declare parts of campus where ICE is not allowed to go and set guidelines for faculty around how to respond to ICE directives.
Protesters were met with repeated honks and cheers from cars driving down Harlow Street as they chanted, “ICE out of Maine,” and “we say no to racist fear, immigrants are welcome here.”
Greater Bangor residents held a similar gathering earlier this month in Peirce Park in response to the killing of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis.
