In Lewiston, Maine’s second-largest city, a crowd of about 1,000 people turned out on a bone-chilling Saturday afternoon with a message for Immigration and Customs Enforcement: get out of Minnesota and get out of Maine.
Only half of them could fit inside the Agora Grand Event Center. The others stood outside in the freezing cold.
For nearly three hours, 18 speakers — including immigrant, faith and local leaders as well as Democratic candidates running for governor and U.S. Senate — rallied around a central theme: they say that the terrorizing of Black and brown people and U.S. citizens in this country represents an erosion of the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law. And they say it’s being done by the federal government to consolidate power.
This week the Department of Homeland Security announced it had arrested “100 illegal aliens” in Maine as part of “Operation Catch of the Day,” a name critics say makes it seem like a dehumanizing game of sport. The government says it is targeting “the worst of the worst.” But without transparency and accountability, the department’s reasoning is unclear.
“This is what democratic backsliding looks like,” said Safiya Khalid, a former Lewiston city councilor and community organizer. “It happens when due process becomes optional. It happens when constitutional protections feel selective. It happens when entire groups of people are labeled as threats, so the public will accept their suffering.”
But the people gathered at the Agora Grand Event Center, a former Catholic church, say there’s only one group that isn’t welcome here. Breaking into repeated chants of “What do we want? ICE out! When do we want it? Now,” they called on the governor and members of the congressional delegation to intervene on behalf of Maine residents.
Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline reminded the crowd that churches that dominate the city skyline and mill buildings erected along the Androscoggin River were built and powered by immigrants.
“Lewiston is and always has been a city of immigrants,” Sheline said. “Including the French Canadian and Irish immigrants who built much of this city. … Today Afghan, Somali and more recently Ukrainian families are contributing in the same way. … Each generation of newcomers has made Lewiston stronger.”
Portland Mayor Mark Dion, who grew up in Lewiston, said the city of Portland stands in solidarity with Lewiston.
“We’re willing to do what it takes to make sure that every member of our community is safe and reinforced in their belief and the fact that they are part of us. We don’t stand apart. We stand together,” Dion said.
But there is also widespread fear. And with yet another shooting death of a man by federal agents in Minneapolis Saturday, it is fear that is heightened both for observers trying to document ICE activity and especially for immigrants, including those who are citizens or who are in the country legally.
“What’s happening right now is not just policy, it’s not just politics, it’s trauma,” said Amran Osman, the founder of Generational Noor, a group that works with immigrant families and youth in Lewiston.
“Kids are being traumatized, families are being traumatized and families are being torn apart,” she said. “And that shouldn’t be happening.”
As one example, human rights activist Faisal Khan played the anguished screams of a woman being pulled over and arrested by federal agents in South Portland.
Other examples of people being arrested include two corrections officers, a civil engineer on a work visa, an 18-year-old college student, a documented asylum seeker who is the mother of four and a documented contractor married to a U.S. citizen.
“This is happening here in Maine, in our neighborhoods, in our streets, outside our businesses. This is not an isolated incident anymore,” Khan said. He called on Gov. Janet Mills, who was not in attendance, to declare a state of emergency and activate the National Guard.
“Because this country cannot any longer continue to be in this abyss of darkness. We are collapsing and imploding rapidly,” Khan said.
And yet the calls to stand in solidarity with immigrant communities are also clear. Nearly 60 faith leaders from around the state showed up at the ICE Out rally and Jane Field, the executive director of the Maine Council of Churches, said more than 60 others were unable to attend.
“These good shepherds who are standing up here with me, they understand the assignment,” Field said. “They understand that the wolves are here and they are hunting and attacking those who are vulnerable. … They understand that our assignment is to stand protect our immigrant neighbors. Together, we fed off those wolves and we chase them out of our great state.”
Safiya Khalid says despite attempts to instill fear and intimidation in the immigrant community, she is pleased to see the rapid response in Lewiston where she says friends, co-workers and neighbors are coming together to offer to help with groceries and rides to work and other support. Because the federal government miscalculated by underestimating the power of community, Khalid says fear won’t be the final word.
“We will organize. We will protect one another. … We will not allow our neighbors to be isolated or erased,” she said. “They want people afraid and alone. Instead, they get us together.”
This story appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
