Maine law enforcement leaders say their departments are following a new law that limits coordination with federal immigration agencies, but some are concerned the restrictions go too far.
The law, which took effect July 29, restricts Maine’s police officers and sheriff’s deputies from inquiring about a person’s immigration status, or sharing their personal information with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or U.S. Customs and Border Protection, unless it’s for an investigation into a state or federal criminal matter, like human trafficking or terrorism. At jails, staff are not allowed to honor hold requests from ICE if they’re only for civil detention purposes.
Multiple law enforcement officials raised concerns about the law, saying it cuts them off from members of the Department of Homeland Security whom they’ve relied on for translation services and information that doesn’t show up in a criminal background check, such as details about when a person crossed the border or any known history abroad. Immigrants’ rights advocates have argued the new restrictions are a way to prevent local resources from being misused, and say the law, which includes exceptions for when police can interact with the federal agencies, is reasonable.
“It’s always better to have open lines of communication with other agencies,” said Androscoggin County Sheriff Eric Samson. “Sometimes collaborative issues fall by the wayside because you can’t do that.”
The American Civil Liberties Union of Maine sent letters on July 30 to more than 100 Maine police departments, all 16 sheriff’s offices and various state agencies, explaining what the new laws require, prohibit and still allow.
“People are free to have their own opinions on the law — the important thing is that the law is followed,” said Anahita Sotoohi, an attorney for the ACLU of Maine, which was involved in introducing the legislation and its passage.
The restrictions come as federal immigration enforcement has ramped up across the country. On July 13, roughly two weeks before the law took effect, an ICE agent shot and killed a 25-year-old father in Biddeford. ICE has said it was “conducting targeted surveillance” on the address of a person with a final order of removal.
A lawyer for the family of the man who was killed, Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, said there was never such an order against him. Sen. Angus King told reporters that DHS confirmed Durán Guerrero was never the agents’ intended target.
ICE also carried out a statewide, weeklong enforcement operation in January that resulted in roughly 200 immigration arrests. A majority of those detained had no criminal history, according to a review of ICE data, and many were later ordered released by U.S. District Court judges who deemed the detentions unconstitutional. Maine is one of several states that has enacted laws limiting cooperation with ICE, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
“The reason why these states are coming up with these laws is because the administration is letting these ICE agents do whatever they want, however they want,” said Sharon Gandarilla-Javier, an assistant professor of police science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
Some in Maine law enforcement have taken issue with ICE’s recent practices. Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce said earlier this month that he’s noticed the agency is less transparent and it’s detaining immigrants who aren’t a public safety risk.
Joyce said he also has concerns with the new law, which he believes takes away discretion from local police.
“Law enforcement has a lot of discretion,” Joyce said. “When you get laws that take away discretion, there are going to be bad outcomes. And I think we’re going to, at some point, see a bad outcome that was not thought of.”
HOW AGENCIES PREPARED
Weeks into the new restrictions, Samson said he’s already seen consequences. He said this includes the case of a man from Auburn who has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman and bailed out of the Androscoggin County Jail, despite a request from ICE to hold him there.
“It would be a good public safety practice to notify immigration if somebody they have interest in was due to be released and they were a danger to society, so they can act on that,” Samson said. “We can’t do that anymore.”
Some agencies began following the new restrictions months before they took effect and some consulted lawyers, including those with the Maine Sheriffs’ Association.
Several municipal governments have enacted broader ordinances that prohibit staff, including local police, from sharing residents’ data with ICE. That includes Portland, Lewiston and Waterville.
Maine State Police announced it would follow the law in December 2025. A spokesperson said last month the agency has had no issues so far.
The Sanford Police Department said its staff attended three trainings about the new law, including one held by state police and the other by Dirigo Safety, an independent law enforcement consultant. Brunswick police Chief Scott Stewart, who is also president of the Maine Chiefs of Police Association, said his department enacted the rule in March to prepare staff.
Stewart said he sent a memo and a copy of the law to officers and told them to “familiarize yourself with the restrictions associated with it.”
He said the law has required his officers to take extra steps where they would have contacted immigration authorities — like using a translation service rather than calling a Border Patrol agent.
In Fort Fairfield, Police Chief Matthew Cummings said the law hasn’t changed much in his community, where Border Patrol agents have traditionally filled in when there’s only one local police officer on duty.
The Maine Criminal Justice Academy said it has certified 400 federal officers to enforce Maine laws. A list of those officers and their roles was not available Wednesday. The new law doesn’t impact those federal officers, who are allowed on a limited basis to enforce state law.
Cummings said Border Patrol agents have helped direct traffic at accidents and fires, respond to domestic disturbances and offering backup at traffic stops.
“Many times, they are the first on scene,” he said.
He said his officers have already begun using a professional translation service over the phone, instead of relying on Border Patrol agents to help.
“We will obviously comply with every portion of state law,” Cummings said.
EXCEPTIONS IN THE LAW
The law includes exceptions for local police who work on task forces with federal agents, as long as the primary focus is not on immigration enforcement.
Emmylou Manwill, a professor for the Immigrants’ Rights and Human Trafficking Program at Boston University School of Law, said that the flowing of information between local police and federal investigators is essential when dealing with trafficking operations.
“Historically, it was best practice to have local law enforcement working alongside those federal agencies,” Manwill said. “But I think now we’re in a reality where the local immigrant community trust has really eroded, and now people are very suspect of anybody who’s working with federal officers.”
Under President Donald Trump, the division of DHS that typically investigates transnational crime, like terrorism and human trafficking — known as Homeland Security Investigations — has been diverted to conduct more civil immigration arrests. As a result, it’s been harder for immigrants who have been trafficked to report what happened to them.
Manwill said laws like Maine’s, and the similar “PROTECT Act” in Massachusetts, will help restore some trust in local law enforcement.
“The last thing we want to happen is, you know, us helping a client report to law enforcement and our client ending up in removal proceedings or ICE detention,” Manwill said.
Sotoohi, from the ACLU of Maine, hopes agencies will view the organization as a resource if they need help understanding their new obligations under the law, which she described as complicated. So far, she said, the ACLU has mostly received brief responses, thanking them for the letters and how they explain the new laws.
The ACLU also sent letters to state-run healthcare sites, libraries and schools that are affected by other recently enacted laws, prohibiting the sharing of Mainers’ data with ICE.
Sotoohi said there “have been positive trends” even before the new restrictions took effect.
“Our motivation with these letters,” she said, “is our belief that these new laws have made strides in protecting people in Maine, and making sure our state and local resources stay in our communities.”