(The Center Square) — Members of Maine’s congressional delegation are demanding answers from the Trump administration about recent immigration enforcement raids in the state.
In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, and Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, called for an update on the U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement’s “inappropriately” titled “Catch of the Day” operation in Maine, including details of the federal agency’s mission and who they targeted during the weeklong sweep.
The lawmakers cited previous statements by DHS officials that federal immigration officials were seeking about 1,400 people in the state as part of the operation, but pointed out that ICE’s “Worst of the Worst” website only lists details of 19 individuals.
King and Pingree also demanded to know whether the “Catch of the Day” operation was over, noting that the only news they have received came from Sen. Susan Collins, the only Republican member of the congressional delegation. Collins said two weeks ago that Noem informed her that large-scale immigration operations in the state had wrapped up.
“While state and municipal leaders along with stakeholders in Maine have reported a reduction in ICE’s presence related to this recent surge — absent a formal notice from DHS of the end of the operation — we have outstanding questions regarding the scope of this operation, the lawmakers wrote.
The lawmakers included nearly two dozen questions for Noem and acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, including how many people were apprehended during the operation, the ratio between people facing criminal charges, and those on civil immigration detainers, and how many federal agents were used during the operation. They said DHS as so far refused to answer previous inquiries about its activities in the state.
“We have repeatedly asked for this basic information over the past three weeks,” they wrote. “We expect answers to the questions posed here, as well as responses to our previous inquiries, within a week, as congressional oversight is not optional.”
More than 200 “illegal aliens” were arrested in the Maine operation, which got underway on Jan. 20, DHS said in a recent statement. The agency has released details of some of those detained, which included people previously charged with assault, drug trafficking, rape and burglary.
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. ICE agents in some cases were forced to “pull away from criminal alien targets” because of “activists” alerting the public to unmarked ICE vehicles, DHS officials said.
Maine Republicans have blamed Mills and other Democrats for encouraging the immigration crackdown by passing a ‘sanctuary’ law restricting cooperation with federal authorities.
