ILAP’s Response to the ICE Surge in January

Coming Together to Meet the Moment

In January, when the enhanced ICE “Operation Catch of the Day” came to Maine, masked ICE officers targeted Black and Brown residents, chased them down in their cars, and arrested and detained over 200 people.

As is their playbook, ICE used tactics designed to inflict maximum chaos and fear during the operation. People were racially profiled, violently ripped from their cars and off the streets by ICE, and thrown into detention centers with horrific conditions.

ILAP responded to more than 70 requests related to arrests made during the operation — thanks in large part to the preparations we’d made in the previous week, and the close collaboration of partner organizations and attorneys across the state.

During this operation, ILAP led a coordinated effort with the ACLU of Maine, Refugee and Human Rights Clinic at Maine School of Law, and The Habeas Project of Massachusetts to develop an emergency response plan to quickly connect people arrested by immigration officials in Maine with high-quality legal representation to get them released from detention as soon as possible. We built a network of highly experienced attorneys across New England who agreed in advance to assist our team of in-house attorneys.

ILAP set up an online request form for families to complete when a loved one is arrested. We also coordinated with local partners to make sure immigrant communities were informed of our process to request help, and that they understood the urgency of notifying us immediately when someone was detained so that we could act quickly before they were transferred out of state, sometimes that same day.

ILAP attorneys collaborated with the recruited private attorneys to file 18 habeas petitions in federal court to challenge illegal detentions and enforce clients’ rights to a bond hearing in immigration court. In most of those cases, clients were released from detention and have since returned home. This includes a young man who is deaf and was taken from his home, a father with a newborn in the NICU, a woman taken from her car on her way to a doctor’s appointment, a father of a one-month-old child, and a young man racially profiled at a work site.

Although that enhanced ICE operation in our state has ended, aggressive ICE and Border Patrol enforcement continues in Maine. ILAP is still receiving many requests each week for legal assistance for people detained by immigration authorities. To date this year, ILAP has responded to 195 requests for assistance and has helped 39 individuals obtain release from detention. We are actively advocating for the release of many additional clients.

 

195 requests for assistance

39 individuals released from detention

38 habeas petitions filed

 

The Dangers of Detention

During these times of enhanced immigration enforcement and draconian new immigration policies, ILAP is prioritizing helping people get released from immigration detention. Getting out of detention slows down a case, allows someone to work more closely with their attorney, and increases the likelihood of success in their case.

Staying in detention not only makes it more difficult to proceed with and win a legal case, but it is also a traumatizing experience. People in detention facilities are subjected to inhumane conditions, with many reports from different facilities describing overcrowding, limited and inedible food, no access to medication or showers, and more.

Additionally, many people face the very real possibility of being transferred to a remote facility across the country, cut off from legal assistance as well as family and community support.

Getting legal assistance is a critical factor in being released from detention, as federal judges in Maine and across the country are finding detentions unlawful and are ordering that they have the right to a bond hearing before an immigration judge, and in some cases, they are ordering them released without that hearing. Managing a federal case without an attorney is next to impossible.

Ongoing Effects of Increased Immigration Enforcement

The chaos and terror inflicted by the ICE operation in January will be long-lasting and generational. Many of the people arrested by ICE have lost their jobs and faced eviction or other fallouts. The trauma they endured will affect them and their families for years to come. On a broader scale, immigrants across Maine remain withdrawn from public life, fearful to go to work or bring their children to school.

The actions taken by ICE in January reflect long-standing patterns in the U.S. immigration system, which has historically enforced racialized exclusion and disproportionately targeted Black and Brown migrants. It is also important to remember that an end to the enhanced ICE operation does not mean the end of all ICE or Border Patrol enforcement in our state now or going forward.

The Path Forward

As we expect enhanced ICE enforcement to continue, we are working to expand our capacity to help more individuals who are detained by immigration authorities, while we continue our core legal services and programs. In addition to our legal work, ILAP will continue to provide community presentations to help people protect themselves and prepare, match families with other referrals and resources, and serve as an on-the-ground source of information for Maine’s law and policy makers and the public about what’s happening and what’s next.

ILAP will also continue to fight for policies to protect immigrants across Maine. Last year, we were part of a successful effort to pass LD 1971, a bill that prohibits Maine law enforcement from diverting resources to assist the federal administration with mass deportation. We are currently advocating for another piece of legislation alongside our partners, LD 2106, which will help protect people from immigration enforcement at sensitive locations such as public schools and hospitals (read more on page 7).

The challenges ahead remain significant, but the collective response across Maine has shown what is possible when communities come together to defend dignity, justice, and belonging. No matter what comes next, we will meet the moment together – because our rights, our freedom, our lives, and our future are inextricably linked, and Maine is Home for All.

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Vonnie TullSpring Newsletter 2026