ILAP Applauds the Maine Legislature’s Passage of Bill to Keep Maine’s Public Schools, Hospitals, and Libraries Safer from ICE and Border Patrol

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 14, 2026      
CONTACT: press@ilapmaine.org   

Maine – The Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project (ILAP) applauds the Maine legislature’s passage of LD 2106, a critically-needed bill aimed at protecting Maine residents and workers from unchecked immigration enforcement at sensitive locations including public schools, hospitals, and libraries.  

ILAP acknowledges and deeply appreciates the tenacious advocacy of directly impacted communities, teachers, nurses, and partner organizations, as well as the leadership of the bill’s sponsor, Representative Eleanor Sato, and the many other state legislators who advocated for this bill. It now heads to Governor Mills’ desk, who has already expressed support.  

ILAP’s Executive Director, Sue Roche said: “While people were already afraid to send their children to school and go about their normal lives given the high levels of indiscriminate immigration enforcement in our state since the beginning of 2025, the enhanced ICE operation in Maine in January 2026 brought the need for this law into new focus. During the operation we saw ICE actively using schools and bus stops outside of medical centers to stalk people. LD 2106 puts in place the strongest protections possible at the state level to safeguard people from immigration enforcement at the public institutions we all rely on, including schools, hospitals, and libraries. It also protects noncitizen employees at these places, the essential workers who serve and care for all of us.”  

While states cannot completely bar federal immigration officers from entering places like schools, LD 2106 uses existing 4th Amendment protections to require ICE or Border Patrol to produce a valid judicial warrant to enter non-public areas, with narrow exceptions. The bill also directs the Maine Attorney General’s office to develop guidance for private and other entities in Maine on how to protect people from ICE and Border Patrol, including daycares and places of worship. 

ILAP’s Policy Director, Lisa Parisio said: “For decades, across both Republican and Democratic administrations, there were versions of federal policy in place prohibiting immigration enforcement at places like schools and hospitals. There are obvious and overwhelming public health and safety consequences for all of us when members of our communities cannot access these places. The current Trump administration eliminated the longstanding federal policy barring enforcement at sensitive locations during their first few days in office.”

While ultimately Congress must defund and otherwise stop the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda, state laws like LD 2106 are powerful protections, especially in combination with other laws and policies. The state of Maine and local municipalities must leave no stone unturned to protect the rights and safety of Maine residents from ICE, Border Patrol, and the Trump administration.”