Update: TBRJ and ICE detainees: Numbers and practice

ILAP executive director, Sue Roche, Esq. also provided further information that Two Bridges Regional Jail (TBRJ) Administrator James Bailey was unable to answer for the original article. Specifically, asked where ICE detainees are sent upon prison release, her reply in a July 24 email stated: "This really depends on the individual case. The Immigration Court in Chelmsford, Massachusetts now has jurisdiction over removal proceedings for individuals who reside in Maine. There is also an immigration court in Boston, but after the Chelmsford court was opened last year, most Maine cases are held in Chelmsford.”

Press MentionsJolene McGowanJuly 29, 2025Support, Call to Action

Fear of ICE Jolts a Maine Beach Town

Lisa Parisio, a policy director at the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project in Portland, said, “We have tracked 17 minor traffic stops that have happened since March where more than 40 people have been handed over by local law enforcement to immigration officers.” This includes people with valid work permits and no criminal history, she said.

Judge restores legal protections for Haitians, says Trump administration overstepped authority

Maine immigration advocates warned that hundreds of people living in Maine to escape wars, gang violence and natural disasters would have faced deportation within weeks had the administration terminated their legal protections.

Press MentionsGuest UserJuly 24, 2025Support, Call to Action

ILAP Public Comment: Agency Information Collection Activities; Revision of a Currently Approved Collection: Biographic Information (for Deferred Action)

ILAP submits a public comment objecting to the Trump administration’s decision to end protection from deportation and access to work permits for abused, neglected, or abandoned children with Special Immigrant Juvenile Status while they wait on their pending cases.

Advocacy in Action, Public CommentGuest UserJuly 24, 2025Advocacy, Legislature

Maine’s largest jail faces mounting pressure to end contract with federal immigration authorities

The Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, Maine’s only statewide immigration legal services organization, has tracked 17 traffic stops since March 2025 where local and state authorities have handed over at least 35 Maine residents and workers to immigration officers based on their immigration status.

Press MentionsJolene McGowanJuly 22, 2025Enforcement, ICE, Detention, Maine Legislature

TBRJ and ICE detainees: Numbers and practice

Two Bridges Regional Jail (TBRJ) Administrator James Bailey reported in May, there were 157 inmates housed at TBRJ: 53 from Lincoln and Sagadahoc counties, 53 from Penobscot County, 20 from Knox County, 24 from Waldo County, four U.S. Marshal boarders, 20 ICE boarders, and one from Border Patrol.

Advocacy groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project (ILAP), provide guidance and counseling to those detained and work to restore due process for the immigrant community.

Press MentionsJolene McGowanJuly 21, 2025Support, Call to Action

ILAP Condemns Reconciliation Bill, a Failure of Both Morality and Public Policy

ILAP unequivocally condemns the passage of the reconciliation budget bill. The bill contains cruel, sweeping changes to the humanitarian immigration system and approximately $170 billion dollars for mass deportation and enforcement policies, paid for by slashing social safety net programs for low-income people across the country.

Press Release, Advocacy in Action, ILAP NewsGuest UserJuly 11, 2025Budget, Asylum, Enforcement, ICE

ILAP Decries Termination of Temporary Protected Status for Nicaragua and Honduras

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Hondurans and Nicaraguans has been in place for more than 26 years and has provided vital humanitarian protection to thousands of people across the country, including people here in Maine. ILAP condemns the Trump Administration’s termination of TPS for Nicaragua and Honduras.

Press Release, Advocacy in Action, ILAP NewsGuest UserJuly 11, 2025TPS

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