U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced Wednesday that it was surging people into Maine to conduct arrests of illegal immigrants, moving to push back on the “sanctuary politicians” who run the state.
The effort, officially dubbed Operation Catch of the Day, began Tuesday and has already netted arrests of migrants with convictions for aggravated assault, child endangerment and cocaine possession.
“We have launched Operation Catch of the Day to target the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens in the state,” said Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary at Homeland Security.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat who has delivered tough talk on the possibility of an ICE surge, said on MS NOW that its agents are “not welcome here” if they were going to “deprive people of civil rights.”
President Trump signaled the surge during a speech last week when he pointed to fraud among the Somali community in Minnesota — another target for ICE arrests — and said it was happening “in Maine, too.”
Andrew Benson, Maine’s acting U.S. attorney, also presaged the surge when he released a statement Monday warning the state’s residents not to take their protesting of ICE over the line.
“The Constitution guarantees the right to peacefully assemble and to protest. These are fundamental rights that form the basis for a free society. What is not protected, however, are acts of violence against other individuals, destruction of property, or obstruction of lawful governmental activity,” he said.
He also called on leaders to urge peaceful protests.
“Force, intimidation and threats have no place in our public discourse and are contrary to our time-honored tradition in Maine of peaceful civic engagement,” he said.
The surge in Maine comes as ICE and Border Patrol agents still have a heavy presence in Minnesota.
Clashes between those federal officers and protesters in Minneapolis have dominated headlines, particularly after two ICE-involved shootings. One left a U.S. citizen, Renee Good, dead after a confrontation on a street.
As the possibility of a surge has grown, Maine public officials have pleaded with their residents to protest peacefully.
“In moments like this, what matters most is how we show up for one another and that we remember who we are and what we stand for as Mainers: the rule of law, the right to peacefully protest, and compassion for our neighbors,” Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline said in a statement Tuesday.
Lewiston and Portland, the state’s two largest cities, both host Somali communities.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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