We find out about the status of the Immigration & Customs Enforcement presence in Maine. What has changed since Senator Susan Collins announced that the increased ICE operations were stopping? More than 200 people were detained during the surge of arrests. Where are they now? What are lawmakers doing? And how are communities faring?
Read MoreILAP remains devastated at the news of the killing of Alex Jeffrey Pretti by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis. Our hearts are with Alex’s loved ones and the city of Minneapolis. We condemn the federal government’s brutal occupation of Minneapolis and send unwavering solidarity to the city’s immigrant communities and allies.
Read MoreU.S. Sen. Susan Collins announced Thursday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has ended its immigration crackdown in Maine, but in communities that have been gripped by fear and uncertainty for more than a week, the news was met with caution and skepticism, not celebration. “In the current environment, with the federal government flagrantly disregarding due process and attempting to indiscriminately deport as many people as they can, having your attorney by your side during any ICE appointment is beyond critical,” Roche said in a written statement.
Read MorePolicy Director Lisa Parisio testifies in support of LD 2106: An Act to Prohibit the Disclosure of Nonpublic Records Without Proper Judicial Review
Maine – The Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project is seeing a drop in new requests for emergency legal help for people arrested by ICE in Maine. We have responded to over 60 requests for help made on behalf of people detained by ICE and are actively fighting to secure the freedom of many of these detained individuals. We hope that ICE’s enhanced operation in our state has ended, but we caution people that an end to the operation does not mean the end of all ICE or Border Patrol enforcement in our state now or going forward.
Read More“The fear is reverberating across Maine, and so many people have completely withdrawn from public life,” Sue Roche, executive director of the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, said in a statement. “There is no guarantee an ICE surge or operation will not happen again, and the increased enforcement in Maine since the beginning of the Trump administration has been devastating in and of itself.”
Read MoreAdvocates said they were still trying to locate and free people who had been taken out of Maine. “We have a lot of work and rebuilding ahead,” Sue Roche, director of the Portland-based Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, said in a statement. “So many people have completely withdrawn from public life.”
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