ACLU of Maine Applauds Mills’ Commitment to Let Immigration Bill Become Law

The ACLU of Maine applauds Governor Mills’ announcement today that she will allow LD 1971 to become law. The bill will prevent local law enforcement resources from supporting the president’s mass deportation agenda and other federal immigration enforcement actions, except when required by state or federal law. The governor also repealed a 2011 executive order that required all state officials to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

From the first days of the second Trump administration, the president has pursued actions and messages that target and harm immigrants – regardless of their legal status – across the country. For the past year, the ACLU of Maine has been focused on supporting policies designed to ensure constitutionally required due process protections for all people in Maine.

“Our state and local resources should never be volunteered to tear our communities apart or support federal practices that often violate due process and other constitutional rights,” said Michael Kebede, policy director for the ACLU of Maine. “Measures like this preserve Maine resources for Maine priorities – not the goals of politicians in Washington. LD 1971 will ensure Maine towns and cities are not complicit in or liable for federal abuses of power, and will improve public safety by building trust between local law enforcement and the communities they are supposed to serve.”

The Maine State Legislature pass LD 1971 in June 2025 at the end of the last legislative session. Because the bill was passed at the end of the session and the governor did not take action within 10 days, the governor may now only veto or allow it to become law without her signature at the start of the next legislative session.

By passing this bill last June, the legislature recognized that thousands of immigrants live in Maine who play active, positive, vital roles in our communities and economy. For many years, Maine has relied on them to accept critical positions in health care, food service, and farming that we otherwise would struggle to fill. They deserve to know that they belong here, and that Maine is a place where their rights, safety, and dignity will be respected and upheld.

As Gov. Mills wrote in her announcement, “[t]he inherent strength and beauty of America is not that we are bound by a common racial or religious heritage. It is that we are bound by the notion that, here, we are all treated equally under the law and we are all guaranteed equal opportunity to succeed. The story of America is our imperfect but never-ending march to turn that notion into reality – and that is why we are the best nation in the world and a beacon of leadership and hope to all others.”

When the bill becomes law without the governor’s signature, it will take effect 90 days after the legislature adjourns.