Gov. Janet Mills on Thursday challenged federal immigration officials to provide arrest warrants, real-time arrest numbers and basic information about who is being detained in a sweeping enforcement operation in Maine, saying the state has been left largely in the dark as fear spreads through immigrant communities.
“If they have warrants, show the warrants. In America, we don’t believe in secret arrests or secret police,” Mills said at a news conference, adding state officials do not know where detainees are being held.
The Democratic governor also said that President Donald Trump’s office has not returned her phone calls regarding the operation begun this week.
Federal officials have said about 50 arrests were made the first day and that roughly 1,400 people are targets of the operation in the mostly rural state of 1.4 million residents, 4 percent of whom are foreign-born and fewer here illegally.
The governor’s remarks came as Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce raised concerns about the arrest of one of his corrections officer recruits by federal immigration agents. Joyce was among more than 100 sheriffs nationwide who met last year in Washington, D.C., with border czar Tom Homan.
Joyce said that the plan outlined at the time — prioritizing the removal of people with serious criminal records — was one he could support. This week’s arrest did not align with that message, he said.
“The book and the movie don’t add up,” he said.
The governor seeks basic information
The enforcement activity has sparked anxiety in Maine’s largest cities, including Portland and Lewiston, which are home to sizable immigrant and refugee populations, particularly from African nations. Community leaders say some families are staying indoors, avoiding work and keeping children home from school out of fear of arrest.
Mills said the lack of information has made it difficult for state officials to assess the scope or justification for the operation.
“I’d be curious to know more about their so-called target,” she said. “Why Maine? Why now? What were the orders that came from above? Who’s giving the orders? We’ve reached out, we’ve asked questions. We have no answers.”
Mills said she would be “shocked” if federal agents could substantiate claims that such a large number of people in Maine have criminal charges against them.
“Mostly we’re hearing reports of people who have not been engaged in criminal activity,” she said. “If someone has evidence of criminal activity, we want to hear about it. But that’s not what we’re hearing about.”
Mills said school districts have gone “on alert,” particularly in Portland and Lewiston, and that some students have not been attending classes. She also said businesses that rely heavily on immigrant labor have reported disruptions.
“People are being torn from their families and from young children, people who are part of the workforce here in Maine — the workforce we desperately need and desperately value,” Mills said.
Portland Public Schools said earlier this week that two schools briefly went into a “lockout” to prevent anyone from entering during the school day amid concerns about nearby enforcement activity, though officials said no threat was ultimately found and the lockouts were lifted within minutes.
Sheriff questions arrest of a recruit
Joyce said ICE agents arrested one of his corrections officer recruits Wednesday evening in Portland despite the county having verified the man’s authorization to work in the U.S.
The recruit was hired in February 2024 after undergoing criminal history checks, fingerprinting, reference checks and a polygraph examination, Joyce said. His employment eligibility was verified through a federally required I-9 form indicating he was authorized to work in the United States until 2029.
“He was squeaky clean,” Joyce said. “Every indication we found was that this was an individual trying to do all the right things.”
Joyce said the recruit had previously traveled to Texas for a hearing related to his immigration status, which the sheriff described as an effort to comply with the law. Joyce said ICE later told him the man was in the country illegally, a claim he said he does not understand given his work authorization and lack of criminal history.
Joyce also criticized the manner of the arrest, saying multiple ICE agents were involved and that the man’s vehicle was left running and unsecured on a city street after he was detained.
“That’s bush-league policing,” Joyce said.
Federal officials defend operation
The enforcement surge has drawn sharp criticism from Democrats in Maine, who say the operation is unnecessarily disruptive in a state with a relatively small undocumented population.
The Department of Homeland Security and ICE did not immediately respond Thursday to requests for updated arrest numbers, warrant information or details about where detainees are being held.
DHS previously said the operation targets what it described as “the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens,” citing arrests involving convictions for aggravated assault, false imprisonment and child endangerment.
Maine’s top federal prosecutor has urged any demonstrations to remain peaceful and warned that people who interfere with federal agents could face prosecution. Mills said the state respects the law but questions the need for what she described as a heavy-handed approach.
Maine’s Assistant House Republican Leader Katrina Smith and other Maine Republicans called on Mills and fellow Democrats to tone down their rhetoric around the enforcement operation.
Smith said Republicans want to meet with the governor to discuss support for law enforcement, the protection of peaceful protest and “how we ensure that no one is harmed because rhetoric was allowed to spiral out of control.”
Residents gather to call for due process
A small group of demonstrators gathered Thursday afternoon outside an ICE field office in Scarborough. College student Ava Gleason of Scarborough said she joined the protest to signal opposition to what she described as fear spreading through the community.
“Maine is one of those places where you look out for your neighbors,” Gleason said. “We’re a community, and to see people come in and rip that apart is terrifying.”
In downtown Portland, resident Dave Cowie held a cardboard sign reading “Due Process” in red and blue. He said he was concerned about the scope of immigration enforcement and raised questions about whether new recruits were getting enough training.
“People are being snatched off the street, taken to undisclosed locations,” Cowie said. “We’re being told we have to prove our citizenship — not everyone walks around with a passport in their pocket.”
Cowie cited a recently disclosed internal ICE memo obtained by The Associated Press that authorizes agents, under certain circumstances, to forcibly enter homes without a judge’s warrant, relying instead on administrative warrants.
“These agents are not well trained for crowd control, and they believe they have rights they do not,” Cowie said. “It flies in the face of the Constitution.”
Mills emphasized that people are legally allowed to record law enforcement activity in public, as long as they do not interfere with officers.
This story has been updated with additional reporting.
