This week, ICE agents shot and killed a 26-year-old father in Biddeford. His wife and 3-year-old daughter watched in horror as he took his last breaths on a city street. ICE admitted he was not even the intended target of their operation. He had a work visa and a social security number.
As rogue immigration agents become increasingly dangerous throughout the country and here in Maine, it's more important than ever that we protect the places we live, learn, and heal. Those places are the foundation of strong, safe, and healthy communities.
On July 29, three new laws will take effect to protect our communities from reckless immigration operations: ICE Out of Policing, ICE Out of Our Homes, and ICE Out of Schools and State Healthcare.
These three new ICE Out laws are a major victory for every person in Maine, and they will ensure our local resources are never used to support the president’s deadly mass deportation agenda.
The ICE Out laws will make us all safer, no matter our immigration status. We’ve all seen the danger and terror that rogue agents have caused. They’ve killed people in the street, smashed windows and snatched people from their vehicles, followed peaceful observers, and caused businesses to close, school attendance to plummet, medical appointments to be canceled, and more.
Together, the ICE Out laws will draw a clear line between Maine and reckless federal agents.
- ICE Out of Policing restricts local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration agencies. This will ensure no person is forced to choose between calling for help in an emergency or facing deportation.
- ICE Out of Schools and State Healthcare empowers frontline employees at public schools, state libraries, and state healthcare facilities to deny ICE searches of private information and private spaces unless they have a valid warrant. Safe access to these essential spaces keeps our communities safe, strong, and healthy.
- ICE Out of Our Homes prohibits landlords from sharing sensitive tenant information, including immigration-related information, with federal agents unless they have a valid warrant. No person should ever feel unsafe at home because their landlord is weaponizing their immigration status against them.
While the state of Maine only has the authority to regulate what is under its own jurisdiction, ICE Out laws will make every community safer.
However, these protections will only work if they're fully implemented. Officials from county commissioners to mayors, police chiefs, superintendents, and sheriffs oversee many of the local systems affected by these laws.
Every day, ICE demonstrates an appalling disregard for people's safety, civil rights, and the rule of law. Maine must not be complicit in these actions, and we must do all we can to protect our communities. Every person in our state deserves to be safe and to know their rights will be protected.
