WATERVILLE, Maine — A new state law that outlines how Maine law enforcement officers may interact with federal immigration authorities does not address how other municipal employees should respond.
Waterville officials voted Tuesday to draft an ordinance defining the responsibilities of all city employees when dealing with federal immigration agencies.
L.D. 1971, which clarifies the relationship between state and local law enforcement agencies and federal immigration authorities, became law last year without the governor’s signature and took effect Jan. 11.
At the Waterville City Council meeting Tuesday, City Solicitor Bill Lee presented councilors with three options for creating a local rule.
One option would allow the council to adopt an ordinance outlining how all city employees — including police — may interact with federal immigration authorities. This approach builds on the new state law by extending guidance to all municipal employees and adding specific limits for police, including a prohibition on providing space to or supporting the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, officers.
A second option would create an ordinance that applies only to city employees outside law enforcement. Police would continue to follow state law.
The final option was to adopt a policy, rather than an ordinance, governing employees outside law enforcement. An ordinance carries the force of municipal law, while a policy serves as guidance and would be enforced by City Manager Nick Cloutier.
“The priority should be, first and foremost, to protect the legal immigrants in this city from being taken without due process,” Councilor Rebecca Green, D‑Ward 4, said.
Councilor Scott Beale, D‑Ward 6, supported adopting an ordinance instead of a policy, but Cloutier argued that a policy could help the city avoid being labeled a “sanctuary city,” which he said might jeopardize federal funding.
Police Chief William Bonney also opposed adopting an ordinance, citing the department’s reliance on $1.9 million in federal grants for new radios.
“This is about saving police lives,” he said.
Mayor Michael Morris questioned the need for the funding, noting it had not been raised during this year’s budget cycle.
Green also argued the city should not rely on federal money.
Later in the meeting, a representative from the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, or ILAP, said several injunctions have been issued on constitutional grounds against executive orders President Donald Trump signed in January 2025. Those orders seek to deny federal funding to sanctuary jurisdictions and restrict access to certain public services, among other provisions.
The ILAP representative added that a policy would not necessarily offer more legal protection than an ordinance.
Beale compared the possibility of losing federal funds under the current administration to extortion.
“We can’t live in fear,” he said.
Several Waterville residents spoke in favor of adopting an ordinance, criticized ICE, and praised the Waterville Police Department. Some also questioned whether additional local rules could create confusion for officers already required to follow state law.
Lee clarified that the only added restriction for police under the proposed ordinance would be a prohibition on allowing ICE officials to use nonpublic police spaces.
Council Chair Brandon Gilley, D‑Ward 1, suggested adopting an ordinance that applied only to city employees outside law enforcement, leaving police to follow state law.
Green and Councilor Samantha Burdick, D‑Ward 3, along with Morris, also raised concerns about potential confusion created by overlapping guidelines.
A draft ordinance covering all city employees, including police, appeared in the council’s agenda packet for Tuesday’s meeting. Gilley proposed rewriting it to remove law enforcement, leaving officers governed solely by state law.
The council ultimately voted 6-1 to approve the ordinance as written, with Gilley opposed.
Ordinance 107‑2026, titled “Immigration Enforcement Restrictions,” states that “no person acting in their capacity as a city employee shall assist or cooperate with or allow any municipal monies or resources to be used to assist, cooperate with, or facilitate any federal agency in any immigration enforcement, except where required to do so by state or federal law, court order, or judicial warrants.”
That includes granting federal agencies access to any nonpublic area of city property or assisting with immigration enforcement, such as responding to requests for a person’s home or work address for immigration‑enforcement purposes, except as required under Maine’s Freedom of Access Act.
The ordinance also bars employees from entering into contracts or agreements to support federal immigration enforcement or authorizing the custody transfer or detention of a person in removal proceedings or for other immigration‑related purposes.
This story was originally published by The Maine Monitor, a nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization. To get regular coverage from The Monitor, sign up for a free Monitor newsletter here.
