ILAP Statement On Reports Of A Forthcoming ICE Operation in Maine
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 16, 2026
CONTACT: press@ilapmaine.org
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.
To Maine’s Somali and other immigrant communities: We are with you. So many of you have overcome the odds through your brilliance, resourcefulness, determination, and dreams for a better life. By choosing to make Maine your home, you have made it a better home for all of us. You embody what is special and great about this country. Nothing can change that.
We are immensely grateful to our partners in Minneapolis who have helped us prepare for an ICE operation in Maine, and for the heroic work they are doing to respond to ICE’s terrorism in their city and state. Thank you also to our partners across New England and the country who have reached out and are standing by.
Let’s also not forget that we are entering this moment with the power and energy we built together in Maine in 2025. The Monmouth, Winthrop, and Wells communities toppled 287(g) agreements, Rockland passed an ordinance to ensure city resources aren’t used for mass deportation, and we passed a statewide law drawing a clear line between Maine law enforcement and the administration’s political agenda. These wins show what we’re capable of and who we are as a united Maine community.
No matter what’s ahead, Maine communities meet this moment together. Because our rights, our freedom, our lives, and our future are inextricably linked, and Maine is Home for All.