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Two federal immigration enforcement agents left a downtown Westbrook store’s parking lot early Tuesday after an employee asked them about a report that they were watching kids board a school bus.
A woman called Plummer’s Ace Hardware in Westbrook to say two people were sitting in a car and watching her kids get on the bus, employee Fred Cummings said. He went out to the parking lot around 8 a.m. to see what was happening.
When he got to the car, he saw two people wearing bulletproof vests that said “ICE.”
“I said, ‘Oh, you’re officers? I just got a report that a woman said you were watching her kids,’” Cummings said. “They said, ‘We’re not watching her kids!’ and then they took off.”
By the time Westbrook police arrived at the area, the agents were not there, Mayor David Morse said. He said residents approached the agents while they were there and confirmed they were with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The action in Westbrook, which has a large population of asylum-seekers, happens as Greater Portland and Lewiston brace for a large immigration enforcement operation as soon as this week. A law enforcement source confirmed the plans to the Bangor Daily News. U.S. Attorney Andrew Benson issued a Monday statement urging Mainers to not interfere with ICE.
An ICE spokesperson declined comment, and the Westbrook police did not immediately respond to requests for comment. There were isolated reports of immigration enforcement in other parts of Greater Portland early Tuesday.
“We can’t stop ICE from coming, but we can make our neighbors aware that we’re supportive of them,” Morse said. “We’ll do everything we can to assist them through these difficult times.”