ROCKLAND, Maine — The midcoast’s top prosecutor issued a sharply critical statement Thursday about the Immigration and Custom Enforcement raids in the state.
“For the last eight years, my office has worked with Immigration and Customs Enforcement cooperatively and effectively in order to ensure both criminal and immigration process are honored and upheld. I have worked with Homeland Security, federal prosecutors, the Bureau of Highway Safety, federal probation, and other federal agencies in my tenure as District Attorney, and I have tremendous respect for those I have worked with, as they have respect for local law enforcement and the people of Maine,” District Attorney Natasha Irving said.
“ICE raids are unnecessary and unwanted. They are terrorizing the people of my district, both those from here and those from away. Our children are scared. My children are scared. They are afraid that their friends will be taken from the classroom, from the soccer turf, and from the school bus. They are afraid their friends’ parents will disappear. They are afraid that the police, who they have been taught are here to help, are now here to hurt. I want to tell my girls and the children of my district that they are safe and their families are safe, that they have nothing to be afraid of, but that would be a lie,” Irving said.
“I urge ICE agents to treat our people, all our people, the way they themselves would wish to be treated. To treat immigrants the way they wish their immigrant ancestors would have been treated. I am warning that unjustified violence against people in my district will not go unanswered, and there is no such thing as absolute immunity for anyone in the Mid-Coast. My office and local law enforcement adhere to a strict policy of supporting freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, and we expect the same from you. Maine is the safest state in the country, and our four counties are the safest in the state of Maine. Do not bring violence and chaos to our doorstep. Your actions reflect on all law enforcement, and we have worked hard for the trust and the safety of our communities. If you cannot do these things, then you do not belong in law enforcement, and you do not belong here,” the top Midcoast prosecutor said.
The Rockland City Council has passed a policy for the city’s police department not to cooperate with ICE on immigration issues. Police, however, will respond if there are crimes being committed by noncitizens. Rockland police and the district attorney’s office broke up a sex trafficking ring in the city and prosecuted both customers and the ringleader.
This story appears through a media partnership with Midcoast Villager.