PORTLAND – Immigration advocacy groups praised three new state laws coming onto the books this week aimed at restricting ICE activity in Maine.
The groups, including the ACLU of Maine, the Immigration Legal Advocacy Project and the Maine Immigrant Rights Coalition, spoke to reporters Tuesday in advance of the new laws taking effect Wednesday.
“Together, these laws are proof that people in Maine and our elected officials will not sit idly by when our neighbors are in need,” said Zach Heiden, chief counsel for ACLU of Maine.
The three laws pertain to policing, rental property, and schools and state healthcare. More than a dozen other states nationwide have already passed similar legislation, the advocates said.
Regarding policing, ACLU of Maine Policy Director Michael Kebede said the laws in Maine will, among other protections:
Prohibit immigrants detained by ICE from being detained in Maine jails
Prohibit Maine jail officials from informing ICE of release dates for anyone being detained
Prohibit local police from handing prisoners over to ICE
Prohibit the use of ICE agents for interpretation services
Prohibit 287(g) agreements that would allow local law enforcement to work with ICE agents on immigration-related matters
“As rogue immigration agents become increasingly dangerous throughout the country and here in Maine, it’s more important than ever that our state and local officials have nothing to do with the chaos, fear, terror and lawlessness spread by ICE,” Kebede said.
Ben Gaines, legal director for Maine Equal Justice, said the laws also prevent landlords from disclosing information about their tenants to immigration officials. Gaines said he has heard reports that landlords have threatened to report tenants to ICE if they complain too much about their living conditions.
“We should all feel safe in the places where our families live, learn and heal,” he said.
The laws will also allow employees of public schools, state libraries and state healthcare facilities in Maine to deny ICE agents access to personal spaces or personal information without a warrant.
The advocates said the laws were passed prior to the shooting death of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero by an ICE agent in Biddeford on July 13, but Ruben Torres, advocacy and policy director for the Maine Immigrant Rights’ Coalition, said the incident makes the new laws even more important.
“That moment reminded all of us that the decisions and the role the government plays in our lives are not abstract,” he said. “They affect our neighbors, our families and the trust that people place in the institutions that are meant to serve them.”
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.
“While Maine cannot completely bar ICE from our state because that agency is under federal jurisdiction, we can and we must maximize the tools and protections that we have available to us at the state and local level,” she said.
ICE and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Spectrum News.