ACLU of Maine Files New Claims Against Federal Agents as ICE Out of Maine Laws Take Effect

PORTLAND – Three new ICE Out of Maine laws took effect today, drawing a clear line between rogue federal agents and the essential places where Mainers live, learn, and heal. As those laws protect Maine people moving forward, the ACLU of Maine today filed five administrative claims seeking accountability for two individuals and one family who suffered abuse at the hands of federal agents in Maine. They cover three separate incidents and are part of a nationwide ACLU effort involving 54 claims across 17 states and Washington, D.C., all filed today.

The claims were brought under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), one of the few remaining legal tools available to seek financial compensation for wrongdoing by federal government employees. They are collectively seeking over $5 million in damages and were filed with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

In one case, masked agents took a man from his Maine home and detained him in Massachusetts for 43 days with no justification. In a second case, an individual was racially profiled, violently arrested, and unlawfully detained after agents smashed his car window. In the third, ICE agents violently broke a man’s driver's side window, spraying broken glass over the man and his family. After violently dragging him out of his car, ICE unlawfully detained him for three weeks. Read more about each administrative claim here.

Looking forward, new ICE Out laws took effect today to protect Maine communities and ensure that local officials and resources are never used to support dangerous and chaotic federal immigration operations:

• ICE Out of Policing restricts jails and Maine law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration agencies. Public safety in Maine requires that all Maine people feel safe to report a crime, serve as a witness in court, and call for help. If police are acting as deportation agents, interacting with them in these ways can be unsafe for many people.

• ICE Out of Our Homes prohibits landlords from sharing sensitive tenant information, including immigration-related information, with federal agents unless they present a valid judicial warrant. No person should ever feel unsafe at home because their landlord is weaponizing their immigration status against them, and landlords should be confident that they can protect renters’ sensitive information in the face of bullying or harassment from ICE agents.

• 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 agents present a valid judicial warrant. Safe access to these essential spaces is the foundation of safe, strong, and healthy communities.

The ICE Out laws affect numerous state and local entities, including 107 police departments, 16 sheriff’s departments, 12 state agencies and divisions, 17 housing authorities, and 253 school districts.

See more about the ICE Out laws in this briefing packet and the full ICE Out campaign at ACLUMaine.org/ICEOut.

View a recording of Tuesday’s press briefing covering the ICE Out laws, featuring the ACLU of Maine, Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition, and Maine Equal Justice.

The following are statements from immigrants’ rights advocates:

“Since the beginning of President Trump’s second term, federal law enforcement agents have terrorized communities and shown a blatant disregard for the law,” said ACLU of Maine Executive Director Molly Curren Rowles. “Maine communities will be stronger and safer with these ICE Out laws in place moving forward, and we are proud to join 18 other ACLU affiliates to hold rogue federal agents accountable for their past unlawful conduct. The rule of law means that we are all accountable for our actions. These laws and the cases we’re bringing demonstrate our commitment to do everything possible to stop the ICE violence and chaos that led to the shocking killing of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrerro this month in Biddeford. Congress has refused to rein in ICE, but if the federal government won’t protect people in Maine, then Mainers will continue to take action and protect one another – just as we always have.”

“The ICE Out laws put in place some of the strongest protections possible at the state level to safeguard Maine people from the administration’s indiscriminate and violent mass deportation agenda,” said Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project Executive Director Sue Roche. “They will protect the rights and safety of Maine residents, keep families together, ensure our state’s taxpayer dollars are not wasted, offer clarity to Maine’s law enforcement, teachers, and medical workers, and take initial steps to rebuild public trust in Maine’s institutions. We are committed to working alongside the state of Maine and other partners to ensure these laws are fully implemented and upheld. At the same time, we demand Congress defund and dismantle ICE, and we call for a Maine and United States that is Home for All.”

"This winter, at the height of the ICE enforcement surge, we learned that a few landlords had begun to use the threat of reporting tenants’ personal information to ICE in order to coerce them into waiving protections due under Maine landlord-tenant law," said Maine Equal Justice Legal Director Ben Gaines. "When tenants apply to rent an apartment, they generally have to share their Social Security number, date of birth, phone number, sources of income, and household size. Under the ICE out laws, everyone is protected from a landlord using sensitive personal information to harass or intimidate them."

"For years, immigrant communities across Maine have told us what collaboration with ICE costs: families separated, workers silenced, and trust in schools, hospitals, and public agencies broken,” said Mufalo Chitam, Executive Director of Maine Immigrants' Rights Coalition. “The ICE Out laws turn those lived experiences into concrete protections and make clear that Maine’s institutions are accountable to the communities they serve. Our coalition will work to ensure every agency follows both the letter and the spirit of these laws, because rights on paper matter only when people can rely on them in their daily lives.”