ICE Launches Raids Against Illegal Immigrants In Maine

Federal immigration agents have deployed to Maine as part of a new initiative dubbed “Operation Catch of the Day,” according to Fox News.

The raids reportedly started with more than 50 arrests on Tuesday.

“We have approximately 1,400 targets here in Maine,” ICE Deputy Assistant Director Patricia Hyde told the outlet.

Hyde said the illegal immigrant targets had rap sheets for “rape of a child” and “drug trafficking,” as well as “sexual assaults, simple assaults,” and “driving while under the influence.”

“You name it,” she said. “They’re on the target list.”

At the start of the operation, ICE nabbed a Sudanese man with more than a dozen criminal convictions, according to Fox News. He also had a deportation order.

Two Ecuadorian illegal immigrants were also caught after they were charged with drunk driving. One of them was released into the country after crossing the border unlawfully during the Biden administration.

The sanctuary city mayor of Portland, Maine, Mark Dion, came out against news of the deployment last week.

“There is no evidence of unchecked criminal activity in our community requiring a disproportionate presence of federal agents. In that view, Portland rejects the need for the deployment of ICE agents into our neighborhoods,” Dion said.

“As a reminder, Portland Police does not cooperate with ICE, and they do not participate in enforcing federal immigration law,” he added.

Maine Democratic Governor Janet Mills also condemned the deployment before it commenced, calling out ICE for its tactics. She also mobilized local law enforcement to respond if needed, but it’s unclear what orders they were given.

“Maine knows what good law enforcement looks like because our law enforcement are held to high professional standards,” Mills said.

“And, I’ll tell you this, they don’t wear a mask to shield their identities and they don’t arrest people in order to fill a quota,” she added.

Most recently, the Trump administration has flooded Minnesota with federal immigration agents, arresting more than 3,000 illegal immigrants in the last six weeks, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said this week. Federal immigration agents have also conducted similar operations in cities like New Orleans, Charlotte, Memphis, and Chicago.