Across Maine, local law enforcement has and continues to actively collaborate with federal immigration enforcement. This collaboration often occurs in the course of a traffic stop: Police pull over a car, usually for a minor offense like a cracked windshield. Deciding that the driver or passenger may not be a citizen, they call ICE or CBP to the scene to take the person into custody.

What happens next is a vast waste of local resources. Officers may spend hours waiting for ICE or CBP to appear. These stops may also violate the state and federal constitutions when they result in people being held beyond what the Fourth Amendment allows, and when officers racially profile to decide who to pull over for low-level traffic offenses. These actions also instill fear and break down trust between immigrant communities and local public safety officials, making all of us less safe.

Below, find the results of our records requests regarding specific traffic stops and broader traffic stop data, showing that law enforcement routinely detains people for ICE or CBP.