ILAP Statement On Reports Of A Forthcoming ICE Operation in Maine

With heavy but strong hearts, ILAP stands ready to respond to increased ICE enforcement in Maine in the coming days. Our care and commitment to Maine’s immigrant communities is unyielding. We are joined by our partner organizations, elected officials, and thousands upon thousands of everyday Mainers prepared to protect one another…

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Legal advocates urge Mainers to know their rights amid rumors of increase in ICE operations

Gov. Janet Mills and the mayors of Portland and Lewiston say they're bracing for a potential increase in immigration enforcement operations as soon as next week. Details remain scarce, and a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Wednesday the agency does not discuss future or potential operations.

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These immigrants do one of Maine’s most dangerous jobs. Then came Trump’s crackdown.

Immigration authorities have rounded up Ecuadorian roofers from Aroostook to southern Maine since Donald Trump took office. The trend provides a window into how the president’s deportation agenda has targeted a community that has quietly shaped the region’s blue-collar economy.

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How police discretion has contributed to immigration arrests, and how that’ll change

The Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project has heard this fear from clients firsthand. 

“People are afraid to leave their homes. They are afraid to go to work. They’re afraid to be on the roadways. They are afraid to send their children to school,” Parisio said. “They’re afraid to call the police for help in any situation, whether that’s protection from domestic violence, coming forward about labor exploitation and trafficking, serving as witnesses in criminal cases.”

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Gov. Mills OKs restrictions on local involvement in immigration enforcement

The Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project confirmed to Maine Morning Star that its clients have been denied the right to have their attorneys present at appointments at the field office over the past few months, including during check-in appointments for people who are in immigration court proceedings. Arrests at such proceedings have been reported elsewhere across the country. 

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