With federal immigration enforcement actions picking up in cities across the country, a coalition of groups in Maine is launching a hotline to protect immigrants from potential harassment and detention.
“The Maine ICE Watch Hotline is a lifeline for families, a bridge for neighbors and a promise that no one in our community will face fear alone,” said Portland At-Large City Councilor Pious Ali, speaking at a press event at City Hall Thursday.
The goal of the project, which is organized by the Maine Immigrant Rights Coalition and People’s Coalition for Safety and Justice, is to provide accurate, real-time information about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Patrol activity and connect Maine families to resources and support services.
“This isn’t about panic — it’s about protection,” Crystal Cron, executive director of Presente! Maine said. “It’s about staying informed, connected and ready to act together. When ICE shows up, we show up too — not with fear but with solidarity. This hotline is a step towards the community we all deserve, one rooted in trust, care and collective defense.”
The hotline has already trained over 150 volunteers, both as operators to receive calls as well as verifiers to confirm or refute reported sightings of immigrant enforcement activity, Cron said. While there are already volunteers across the state, Cron said they are seeking more in rural areas.
Federal actions targeting Democratic-led cities and states have been on the rise. The press conference was held two days after 50 federal agents descended on New York City’s Canal Street, reportedly arresting nine men.
Last month, a Portland resident was detained by ICE agents after dropping off their child at the Gerald E. Talbot Community School. Nationally, schools, like workplaces, have become frequent targets and there is research tying the raids to increased student absences.
Wes Pelletier said at the press event that, as councilor for Portland District 2, he represents some of the city’s more diverse neighborhoods and has “seen firsthand how fear has taken hold of our communities. Truancy is on the rise … our parks and playgrounds and our streets are more quiet.”
Pelletier, who is among the volunteers that have taken the verifier training, said over the past few months there’s been quiet organizing but there’s been a growing need for a “unified network to share information that doesn’t cause undo panic, is integrated in the communities it serves, and that balances safety with accessibility.”
After the hotline receives a call of a potential sighting, the report is passed to a regional verifier response group. If they confirm that immigration agents are present, an alert will go out through texts and social media. Verifiers are also trained to observe enforcement actions and gather more information. Afterwards, the hotline will help track the detainee through the immigration system while connecting impacted people with legal representation, financial and other support.
Similar grassroots efforts have been launched elsewhere to protect immigrant communities and push back against federal enforcement actions.
Ahead of the Trump administration’s deployment of immigration authorities last month to Chicago, community groups similarly launched a hotline to help keep tabs on agent activity. Since then, volunteers have organized a vast rapid response network that includes blowing whistles to alert neighbors if ICE or Border Patrol agents are spotted nearby and documenting encounters with federal agents on their phones.
Cron said they’ve connected with and learned from groups in other states, including Siembra NC, in North Carolina, and LUCE Immigrant Justice Network in Massachusetts.
The role of local law enforcement
While the speakers focused on federal immigration activity, enforcement in Maine has routinely been initiated by local law enforcement.
Since March, the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, Maine’s only statewide immigration legal services organization, has tracked 22 minor traffic stops and similar incidents where more than 50 Maine residents and workers were handed over to immigration officials by state and local law enforcement based on suspected immigration status alone. This is not a complete picture of such incidents, but rather the organization’s best estimate based on verifiable reports.
“What is known shows a concerning and broad pattern of Maine law enforcement agencies across the state stepping outside of their roles and voluntarily diverting Maine’s resources to assist the federal administration with indiscriminate immigration enforcement, threatening the rights and safety of some of Maine’s most vulnerable residents,” ILAP shared in a statement.
The state Legislature has considered prohibiting or restricting state and local law enforcement agencies from carrying out the work of federal immigration authorities, though both remain in limbo heading into the next session in January. One of those bills passed the Legislature and rests with Gov. Janet Mills.
“When our governor refuses to sign a bill that will prevent local and state law enforcement from being used to enforce harsh federal immigration laws, it sends the wrong message,” said Ali. “It tells the federal agencies that they can come into our neighborhoods and act without restraint.”
Cron said the hotline guidance is the same regardless of whether it is a federal or local officer and people should call in if they see any suspicious law enforcement activity.
An estimated 70% of ICE arrests nationwide over the past decade have been handoffs from state or local authorities.
As of Tuesday night, no police departments in Maine have formal agreements with federal immigration authorities, after Wells Police Department terminated its agreement under the 287(g) program.
This means departments in Maine have local discretion regarding when to involve federal officials.
Another layer is where immigration detainees are housed. The public has for months been calling for the board to end Cumberland County Jail’s contract with the U.S. Marshal Service to house federal detainees, which includes immigration detainees, arguing that cooperation with federal immigration authorities makes the county complicit with their increasingly aggressive tactics.
Earlier this week, the board postponed its decision, with some members raising concern that ending the contract would only take people farther away from their families and legal counsel.
Legal experts say that already occurs, as it’s common practice for federal authorities to transfer immigration detainees from facility to facility.
As Maine Morning Star reported in April, the majority of immigration detainees in Cumberland County Jail are not residents of nor were they arrested in Maine. Most were transferred to the facility from out of state, and they are often quickly transferred out, too.
The hotline is currently available from 6-9 a.m. and 5-9 p.m. Monday through Friday. The coalition is encouraging interested parties to volunteer or share information about the hotline on social media or by displaying one of their posters.