Ask Portland City Council to Protect Due Process and Immigrants' Rights

Portland City Council is considering an ordinance to limit local participation in federal immigration enforcement, safeguard constitutional rights, and ensure that local resources are used for local priorities. The first public hearing is on Monday, April 13, and the council needs to hear from you. The second public hearing and final vote will likely be on Monday, April 27.

You can help by contacting the city council and encouraging them to pass Order 180-25/26.

The ordinance would limit local participation in federal immigration operations, safeguard constitutional rights, and ensure Portland’s resources are used for local priorities – not to carry out the agenda of politicians in Washington.

A state law will take effect this summer limiting state and local law enforcement involvement in civil immigration operations. Portland’s ordinance would offer even stronger protections by covering all city employees. We’ve championed similar ordinances in Rockland and Lewiston, and Bangor is also considering the same policy at its Monday council meeting.

What would the ordinance do?

This ordinance would clarify the role of all city employees – including police – preventing local resources from being used to support the president's mass deportation agenda. The ordinance does not prevent cooperation in cases of serious criminal investigations through state-federal taskforces, whose primary purpose isn’t immigration enforcement. Instead, it ensures Portland isn't complicit in the federal government’s cruel and indiscriminate deportation machine.

Why include all public officials in this ordinance?

Public officials outside of law enforcement often handle residents' private and sensitive data, which the federal government may try to access. We've already seen the Department of Justice (DOJ) target the Maine Secretary of State for voter data.

In Maine towns and cities, local clerks hold significant amounts of sensitive data. Limiting data sharing by all local employees will better protect the community's privacy and safety.

Message Council: You can contact Portland City Council with just a couple of clicks using our automatic form. Complete this form to contact council now.

Send a Personalized Email: You can contact the council by emailing [email protected], or you can find your specific city councilor and email them directly. Find who represents your district here. Find individual city councilors' email addresses here.

Call: You can call the city council at 207-874-8300.

Attend the meeting in person: You can attend the meeting on Monday, April 13, at 5 p.m., to share your thoughts during the public comment period. If you speak about the ordinance during the April 13 meeting, it is unlikely that you will be able to speak at the April 27 meeting.

If you contact the council, here is a suggested email. You could also use this as guidance for a phone call or speaking during the public comment period at Monday's meeting. Feel free to personalize it. Personalized messages are always more effective, but every message matters. Be sure to share where you live so they know you're in Portland.

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Dear Councilor <<NAME>>,

Maine has taken important steps to ensure that local resources are used for local priorities, not for federal immigration priorities set by politicians in Washington. We urge you to pass Order 180-25/26 to strengthen these efforts in Portland. The order would ensure that our local city employees focus on our local needs and safety by declining to support certain federal immigration operations.

As you likely know, LD 1971 will take effect this summer, limiting the ability of law enforcement to engage in most federal civil immigration enforcement efforts. I urge you to strengthen these protections by ensuring clear accountability mechanisms and widening the scope of protections to cover all city employees, not just law enforcement.

Importantly, LD 1971 and Order 180-25/26 have carve-outs allowing for cooperation with federal officials in cases of serious criminal investigations through state-federal task forces.

I respectfully urge you to pass Order 180-25/26 to protect our local resources, maintain public safety, and keep Portland a community where all people can thrive.

Sincerely,

<<NAME>>