(The Center Square) — Federal immigration authorities have reportedly wrapped up large-scale enforcement actions in Maine after apprehending more than 200 “criminal aliens” during the nearly week-long operation.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security launched “Operation Catch of the Day,” a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in Maine “targeting the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens who have terrorized communities.”
Ahead of the raids, Democratic Gov. Janet Mills and the mayors of Portland and Lewiston, both Democrats, warned residents to prepare for a possible increase in ICE presence in their communities.
More than 200 “illegal aliens” have been arrested since the operation got underway on Jan. 20, the federal agency said. The agency has released details of some of those detained, which included people previously charged with assault, drug trafficking, rape and burglary.
“The early success of this operation displays how effectively ICE officers can operate anywhere and in any environment,” ICE Deputy Assistant Director Patricia Hyde said in a statement. “Our officers arrested more than 200 alien offenders in less than a week despite the organized efforts from activist groups, radical politicians and protestors to thwart our activities. ICE will not be deterred from enforcing U.S. immigration law.”
Hyde said during the operation, ICE agents in some cases were forced to “pull away from criminal alien targets” because of “activists” alerting the public to unmarked ICE vehicles. One suspect was a known drug trafficker. She noted that ICE agents are facing increasing threats and assaults as they seek to apprehend and deport undocumented immigrants.
While ICE didn’t say the operation was over, Republican Sen. Susan Collins said she spoke with Department of Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem earlier this week, who told her that the agency is wrapping up its large-scale enforcement actions in the state.
“There are currently no ongoing or planned large-scale ICE operations here,” Collins said in a statement. “I have been urging Secretary Noem and others in the Administration to get ICE to reconsider its approach to immigration enforcement in the state. I appreciate the Secretary’s willingness to listen to and consider my recommendations and her personal attention to the situation in Maine.”
Collins said Noem told her that ICE and Customs and Border Protection will “continue their normal operations” in the state. She said her office will continue to work with DHS “on efforts to end illegal immigration, drug smuggling, and other transnational criminal activity.”
Mills, who is seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination to challenge Collins in November, blasted the ICE operation and accused President Donald Trump of abusing his power. She said the state “will not be intimidated” by the Trump administration’s surge in federal immigration enforcement.
“We will not be intimidated. We will not be silenced,” Mills said during her final State of the State address Tuesday. “And to anyone outside these halls, including any federal officials, I say: If you seek to harm Maine people, you will have to go through me first.”
