ICE Out of Maine Laws Take Effect in One Week, Limiting State Involvement in Immigration Operations

PORTLAND – Three new ICE Out of Maine laws will take effect on July 29, drawing a clear line between rogue federal agents and the essential places where Mainers live, learn, and heal: ICE Out of Policing, ICE Out of our Homes, and ICE Out of Schools and State Healthcare. These laws will protect our communities and ensure that local officials and resources are never used to support dangerous and chaotic federal immigration operations.

Together, the ICE Out laws will draw a clear line between Maine and reckless federal agents:

• ICE Out of Policing will restrict jails and Maine law enforcement from cooperating 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 will empower 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.
• ICE Out of Our Homes will prohibit landlords from sharing sensitive tenant information, including immigration-related information, with federal agents unless the agents 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.

The ICE Out laws affect numerous state and local agencies and will need to be implemented by a wide range of public officials, including county commissioners, sheriffs, superintendents, and mayors. For instance, Maine has 107 police departments, 16 sheriff’s departments, 12 state agencies and divisions, 17 housing authorities, and 253 school districts – all of which will need to comply with the ICE Out laws.

The laws will come into force as federal immigration agents continue committing widespread civil rights violations. A national ACLU report released last week, Agents of Chaos and Cruelty, highlights intentional changes at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that have unleashed thousands of masked, menacing, and unaccountable agents on communities across the country at a scale that mirrors aspects of countries under authoritarian rule. The result of these changes has led to violence throughout the country, including widespread terror during “Operation Catch of the Day” and the killing of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Biddeford at the hands of ICE.

The ACLU of Maine and other advocates will activate Maine voters to hold their public officials accountable for implementation. The ACLU of Maine will also track compliance through public records collection. Read more about the ICE Out campaign at ACLUMaine.org/ICEOut.

WHAT:

Join immigrants’ rights advocates for a press briefing about new ICE Out of Maine laws set to take effect on July 29, 2026. Read more about each law and see a legal analysis of the ICE Out laws in this briefing packet.

WHO:

• Zach Heiden, Program and Strategy Director & Chief Counsel, ACLU of Maine
• Michael Kebede, Policy Director, ACLU of Maine
• Liz LaPierre, Advocacy and Programs Director, Maine Equal Justice
• Sue Roche, Executive Director, Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project
• Ruben Torres, Advocacy and Policy Manager, Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition

More speakers may be added.

WHEN:

Tuesday, July 28, 2026, 10:30 a.m.

WHERE:

Email [email protected] to register for the briefing via Zoom. Registration is open only to members of the media.