Dozens of new Maine laws take effect this week. Here are some highlights.
“(These) laws are a necessary and key part of Maine’s response to the federal administration,” said Sue Roche, executive director of the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project. “They are needed to protect all of us and to begin to repair some of the trust in Maine’s public institutions where trust has been lost.”
Parisio said ICE detention centers are on track to have their deadliest year yet, and that local ordinances are important to public safety and public trust, as many immigrants report being afraid to report crimes and abuse, assist as witnesses, seek protective orders, and send their children to school.
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Advocates say new anti-ICE laws will help protect Mainers
Sue Roche, executive director of the Immigration Legal Advocacy Project, noted that ICE agents are federal agents, but the new laws can still govern how Mainers interact with them.
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Maine laws aimed at curtailing federal immigration enforcement activity take effect this week
Sue Roche, with the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, said at a virtual press conference Tuesday the laws are a bulwark against federal policy. "While Maine cannot completely bar ICE from our state because that agency is under federal jurisdiction," Roche said, "we can and we must maximize the tools and protections that we have available to us at the state and local level."
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New law limits when police in Maine can work with immigration enforcement agencies
Sue Roche, executive director for ILAP, said her organization was aware of more than 50 incidents in 2025 in which state and local police called immigration officials, resulting in arrests.
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ICE targets Maine youth after removal of legal protections
Lisa Parisio, policy director for the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project in Portland, said the juveniles are now living in a constant state of fear. "We have just seen and heard so many reports from families – young people of working age who are afraid to go to work, afraid to seek higher education, afraid to just start their lives," Parisio reported.
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Months after ICE’s surge, a fatal shooting shows its Maine presence never stopped
“Immigration enforcement has been at high levels since the beginning of 2025 to now, both before and after the January ICE operation,” Lisa Parisio, the policy director for the Portland-based Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, said. “Enforcement did not stop after that.”
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Maine Calling: Biddeford ICE Shooting
Mainers are expressing shock and anger after a fatal shooting of a 26-year-old Colombian man in Biddeford Monday morning involving immigration enforcement officers.
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Maine Calling: U.S. Supreme Court Rulings
The U.S. Supreme Court just concluded a term marked by major decisions on cases such as: birthright citizenship, immigrant rights, executive power, and transgender students.
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