Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said the Trump administration is using state voter rolls as a “ransom payment” for immigration enforcement agents to leave Minnesota.
Bellows’ comments come after U.S Attorney General Pam Bondi told officials in Minnesota this weekend that ICE agents could be withdrawn if the state met several conditions, including providing voter registration files to the Trump administration.
Bellows said Monday that Maine has not yet received a similar request, but that if it does, her office will not comply.
“This is outrageous,” Bellows said Monday on Maine Calling. “And it really indicates what has already been clear: ICE is invading our states and inflicting violence in Minnesota and now in Maine to create chaos and control our states and our elections.”
The U.S. Justice Department sued the state of Maine last year after Bellows refused to hand over copies of the state’s voter files. About two dozen other states, including Minnesota, are facing similar lawsuits.
Bellows called the demand from federal DOJ officials “outrageous,” in the wake of Alex Pretti being shot and killed by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis over the weekend. Pretti, a U.S. citizen, was the second victim of a federal agent-involved fatal shooting in Minneapolis in less than one month.
“Following protesters, intimidating protesters and the use of force that we saw in Minnesota that’s now resulted in two killings, this is trampling on our constitutional rights,” Bellows said.
This story appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
