AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine police would not be allowed to enter into contracts with federal immigration enforcement agents under a new proposal from a Bangor Democrat that comes amid President Donald Trump’s controversial deportations.
The measure from Rep. Ambureen Rana, D-Bangor, is one page and straightforward in terms of prohibiting local and state law enforcement agencies or officers from contracting with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
It comes as agents at the Maine-Canada border have arrested and deported higher numbers of people since Trump returned to office in January and as the Trump administration faces accusations of unlawfully detaining an asylum seeker in Maine and lawsuits over deporting foreign-born academics who have U.S. visas.
Rana’s bill, which is cosponsored by nine Democrats, also comes amid ICE asking police agencies to partner with it in arresting and removing people in the country illegally, though no Maine police departments have joined that partnership. Trump’s allies, including homeland security adviser Stephen Miller, also warned officials in Cumberland and Hancock counties in December they may face criminal charges if they maintain “sanctuary” policies.
The Cumberland County Jail in Portland has not honored federal requests to hold inmates beyond their release dates since 2017 under a policy implemented by Sheriff Kevin Joyce, a Democrat. ICE identified the Hancock County Jail last year as having a similar policy. Joyce has defended the policy as protecting taxpayers from paying for lawsuits and noted federal courts have found the requests that are known as detainers do not carry the force of law.
A spokesperson for House Democrats said Rana is declining to comment for now on the proposal, which has not yet been scheduled for a public hearing that may shed light on how Gov. Janet Mills’ administration views the proposal. Lt. Aaron Turcotte, a Maine State Police spokesperson, said the agency does not comment on legislation ahead of public hearings.
Other Democratic states have some limits on cooperation with federal immigration agents, while Oregon and Illinois are reportedly the only states with comprehensive laws restricting transfers to ICE. Republican-led states have sought to ban such “sanctuary” policies.
“It is our job to not only ensure criminals are held accountable for their crimes, but also in making sure that our local communities are doing their part to keep us all safe,” Wisconsin state Rep. Rick Gundrum reportedly said before his fellow Republicans passed a proposal this month to require county sheriffs to cooperate with ICE.
Amid Trump’s flurry of executive orders aimed at limiting immigration, Border Patrol agents installed 334 concrete barriers in January on the border between Maine and Canada. In terms of people seeking to unlawfully enter northern Maine from Canada, the Houlton Sector of U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported 344 “encounters” last fiscal year.
But the Houlton Sector is on pace to surpass those totals this year, with 120 encounters through the first four months of the fiscal year that began in October 2024, including 50 in January.
Sue Roche, executive director of the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, which provides immigration legal services throughout Maine, said Rana’s proposal “would be an important step to protect the state’s overall public safety and economy and the rights of all residents.”
When state and local law enforcement voluntarily give resources to the immigration enforcement efforts, it can take away resources from other public safety needs, make immigrants afraid to report crimes such as domestic violence to police and lead to more racial profiling, among other consequences, Roche said Wednesday.
“The crucial context to remember here is that the Trump administration is engaged in a xenophobic mass deportation agenda and they are broadly targeting all immigrant communities by pushing a false narrative that there is a link between being an immigrant and criminality,” Roche said. “No such link exists.”
