Advocates urge ICE to suspend enforcement actions during outbreak

CONTACT: Rachel Healy, ACLU of Maine, (207) 409-5509

April 16, 2020

Immigrant Communities Report Continued Harassment Despite Health Risks

Portland - Advocates from around Maine today urged immigration agencies to suspend all civil immigration enforcement activities in Maine, in order to protect people during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the ACLU of Maine’s letter to the local Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) offices, despite ICE’s avowed plan to “delay enforcement actions” during the public health crisis, federal immigration officials in Maine continue to target immigrants and refugees.

Emma Bond, staff attorney at ACLU of Maine, explained: “Attempting to arrest people for civil immigration violations undermines physical distancing. It also risks putting more people into detention facilities, where distancing is impossible. Government agencies should be doing everything they can to keep all people safe, and that includes suspending unnecessary interactions with people.”

“Continuing enforcement operations will exacerbate a chilling effect and prevent immigrants, regardless of status, from accessing medical services necessary to safeguard their health and well-being. Further, continued operations will inevitably further the spread of COVID-19,” said ILAP Advocacy and Outreach Attorney Julia Brown.

There is ample precedent for suspending immigration enforcement during public emergencies. The Department of Homeland Security suspended immigration enforcement in areas affected by Tropical Storm Florence in 2018, in advance of Tropical Storm Barry in 2019, and against evacuees fleeing the California wildfires the same year.

Mufalo Chitam, executive director of Maine Immigrant Rights’ Coalition, added: “Enforcing civil immigration actions during a public health crisis at such an unprecedented time in our history, when the world as we have known it has changed, is inhumane. We strongly urge ICE to suspend its actions.”

The full text of the letter is available here.