Maine

ICE ‘Not Welcome,’ Maine Officials Say as Reports Point to State as Trump’s Next Target

Spread the love

Original article by Julia Conley republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

US Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino and his men stop at a gas station on January 13, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Trump administration has sent an estimated 2,000 federal agents into the area as they make a push to arrest undocumented immigrants. The president’s next target may be the state of Maine. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

“Maine will not be intimidated, and we will not betray the values that make us who we are,” said Gov. Janet Mills.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills was among the leaders in the state who addressed reports late Wednesday that the Trump administration plans to send federal agents including those with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement to cities such as Portland and Lewiston, and said unequivocally that the violence masked officers have unleashed on Minneapolis in recent days would not be welcome by residents and officials.

Mills said ICE had refused to confirm the reports that its agents would be in the state and what the basis for the operations would be, but MS Now reported Wednesday that the administration is considering sending federal officers to Maine.

RECOMMENDED…

A Border Patrol Tactical Unit member pepper-sprays a protester in the face

Walz Puts National Guard—and Trump—On Notice as Protests Erupt Over ICE ‘Murder’ in Minneapolis

Protesters Denounce ICE Outside Chicago-Area Facility

‘Reign of Terror’: ICE Builds Appalling Record of Killings, Beatings, Kidnappings, and More

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump mentioned Maine’s Somali community in a speech at the Detroit Economic Club; Somali people in Minnesota have been a top target of ICE’s activities there.

Maine’s Democratic governor said her administration was “taking proactive steps to prepare.”

“If any operations take place, our goal as always will be to protect the safety and the rights of the people of Maine,” said Mills. “Maine knows what good law enforcement looks like because our law enforcement are held to high professional standards… and they are accountable to the law. 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.”

“To the federal government I say this: If your plan is to come here to be provocative and to undermine the civil rights of Maine residents, do not be confused. Those tactics are not welcome here,” she said.

Mills said state police had been directed to work closely with local law enforcement in cities including Lewiston and Portland, where the police departments do not cooperate with ICE.

Reports of the potential deployment—which Portland Mayor Mark Dion denounced as a “paramilitary approach”—come days after a bill, LD 1971, became law and prohibited all state and local law enforcement from engaging in federal immigration enforcement activities.

“This new law will ensure Maine towns and cities are not complicit in or liable for federal abuses of power, and will improve public safety by building trust between local law enforcement and the communities they are supposed to serve,” said ACLU of Maine policy director Michael Kebede on Tuesday.

The bill passed into law without the signature of Mills, a Democrat who is running in the US Senate primary in hopes of unseating Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). The governor has been trailing Graham Platner, a progressive who has called for the “dismantling” of ICE, in recent polls.

“One of the reasons I want to go to the Senate is that when we have power again, I want to haul all of these people and the ones that made them do it in front of a Senate subcommittee, make them take their masks off,” Platner said in October.

Dion and Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline, also a Democrat, urged residents and businesses to know their rights in case they are approached by federal immigration agents.

Dion emphasized in a statement Wednesday that “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,” said the mayor, a Democrat.

President Donald Trump’s recent escalation of federal immigration enforcement in Minneapolis has led to an ICE agent’s killing of 37-year-old Renee Good, who had been observing the agents as people across Chicago, Charlotte, and other cities have over the past several months. A federal agent also shot and wounded a man during a traffic stop there on Wednesday.

Trump has largely been targeting the Somali population in Minnesota amid a social services fraud scandal in the state in which some Somali people have been charged and convicted. He has called for all Somali immigrants to leave the US. On Tuesday, Trump said that “Somali scams” had happened “in Maine, too.”

Maine has a significant Somali community including many people who have become US citizens; the population is largely centered in Lewiston and Portland.

MS Now reported that according to people familiar with the administration’s plan, immigration operations in Maine were “being designed to arrest and detain Somali refugees for reviews that could last around 30 days.”

The Maine Monitor reported that immigration authorities visited Lewiston last month and visited Gateway Community Services, a healthcare provider for immigrants that the state suspended payments to after it alleged more than $1 million in interpreter fraud.

Mills said Wednesday that she fully supported the right of Maine residents to protest a federal immigration enforcement operation and urged them to do so peacefully and “to meet any hostility with reserve and resolve.”

“I know there are more unanswered than answered questions right now,” she said. “We will continue seeking out answers and continue to communicate our information and plans with you in the coming days. But know this: Maine will not be intimidated, and we will not betray the values that make us who we are.”

Original article by Julia Conley republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
Donald Fuhrump says that Amerikkka doesn't bother with crimes or charges anymore, not being 100% Amerikkkan and opposing his real estate intentions is enough.
Donald Fuhrump says that Amerikkka doesn’t bother with crimes or charges anymore, not being 100% Amerikkkan and opposing his real estate intentions is enough.
Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an obviously insane, xenophobic Fascist.
Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an obviously insane, xenophobic Fascist.
Continue ReadingICE ‘Not Welcome,’ Maine Officials Say as Reports Point to State as Trump’s Next Target

‘Vindictive’: Trump USDA Freezes $100 Million for University of Maine Amid Trans Athlete Fight

Spread the love

Original article by Julia Conley republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

Maine Democratic Governor Janet Mills speaks with U.S. President Donald Trump at the Governors Working Session at the White House in Washington, D.C., on February 21, 2025. (Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

“This administration is targeting our state for retribution,” said Rep. Chellie Pingree, “all because our elected officials are standing up for the rule of law.”

The Trump administration on Tuesday appeared to step up its clash with Maine’s Democratic-led government over the state’s support for transgender women who play on women’s sports teams, as the University of Maine announced $100 million in its federal funding had been halted.

The university system said the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) funding was being temporarily paused while the Trump administration investigates whether the University of Maine System (UMS) is violating Title VI or Title IX of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibit discrimination based on race or national origin and sex, respectively.

The USDA began a review of UMS compliance with the Civil Rights Act in February, a day after Gov. Janet Mills told President Donald Trump at a White House event that she was prepared to defend Maine’s decision to continue allowing transgender students to play on girl’s and women’s sports teams.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) updated its policies to comply with Trump’s executive order requiring the Department of Education to notify school districts that allowing transgender students to compete on women’s teams violates Title IX.

“If all of their funding was removed from USDA, that would have a really big impact on farmers on the ground here.”

But Mills told Trump that she will “comply with state and federal law.” In 2021, Maine’s state laws were updated to allow student athletes to compete on teams that correspond to their identity as long as there are no safety concerns.

Since the USDA opened its review of UMS policies, the university system has confirmed to the department that its athletic programs are in compliance with state and federal laws and that its schools that are part of the NCAA are following the association’s recently updated policies.

UMS said in a statement Tuesday that after notifying the USDA of its compliance on February 26, it did not hear from the department until the notice of the funding pause was sent on March 10, with the USDA accusing the university of “blatant disregard” for Trump’s executive order.

The agency said last month that UMS “receives over $100 million in USDA funding.”

UMS said Tuesday that it has received funding from federal agencies including the USDA since its founding in 1865, with the USDA awarding $29.78 million in 2024 for research benefiting the largely rural state.

UMS has used its current USDA funding to invest in numerous projects, including but not limited to:

  • Research on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as forever chemicals, on Maine farms;
  • The development of sustainable packaging materials derived from Maine’s forests;
  • Research on the health and sustainability of the state’s lobster fishery;
  • Support for 4-H youth leadership and STEM skill development programs serving tens of thousands of Maine youth annually; and
  • Education and outreach to Maine livestock farmers on farm biosecurity and disease outbreak preparedness.

“If all of their funding was removed from USDA, that would have a really big impact on farmers on the ground here,” Sarah Alexander, executive director of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, toldReuters last month after the agency launched its review of UMS.

U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) denounced the USDA’s “vindictive” funding pause, noting that the agency “shared no findings, and offered no opportunity for a hearing.”

“It fails to provide any sort of timeline or opportunities for recourse,” she said in a statement posted on social media. “Let’s be clear about what this latest funding freeze will do: It will hurt farmers and rural Mainers, it will halt critically-needed research innovation, and it will slash educational opportunities for students throughout Maine. Once again, it appears as though this administration is targeting our state for retribution—all because our elected officials are standing up for the rule of law.”

Original article by Julia Conley republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

Donald Trump decrees forbidden terms denying sexual diversity
Donald Trump decrees forbidden terms denying sexual diversity
Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
Continue Reading‘Vindictive’: Trump USDA Freezes $100 Million for University of Maine Amid Trans Athlete Fight

‘See You in Court,’ Maine Governor Says to Trump’s Face After Funding Threat

Spread the love

Original article by Jessica Corbett republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills had an exchange with U.S. President Donald Trump about transgender athletes during a meeting in Washington, D.C. on February 21, 2025. (Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

The president threatened to cut off federal funding to the state for respecting the identities of trans student-athletes.

Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills stood up to U.S. President Donald Trump at a Friday event in Washington, D.C. after the Republican threatened to cut off federal funding because the state allows transgender youth to participate in sports in line with their identities.

While at the podium, Trump asked if Maine’s governor was at the event. After Mills confirmed her presence, he asked if she will comply with his executive order intended to use his administration’s interpretation of Title IX—a federal law barring discrimination on the basis of sex at educational institutions that get federal funds—to block trans girls and women from competing as female athletes.

“You better do it, because you’re not gonna get any federal funding at all if you don’t,” Trump said to Mills—who replied that she would follow state and federal laws. She also told the president, “See you in court.”

Mills also released a statement vowing that “if the president attempts to unilaterally deprive Maine school children of the benefit of federal funding, my administration and the attorney general will take all appropriate and necessary legal action to restore that funding and the academic opportunity it provides. The state of Maine will not be intimidated by the president’s threats.”

Maine Morning Star reported Friday that the state’s attorney general, Aaron Frey, said in a statement that any attempt by Trump to cut federal funding over the issue “would be illegal and in direct violation of federal court orders.”

“Fortunately,” he said, “the rule of law still applies in this country, and I will do everything in my power to defend Maine’s laws and block efforts by the president to bully and threaten us.”

“It is disturbing that President Trump would use children as pawns in advancing his political agenda,” added Frey, who earlier this month joined other Democratic attorneys general in vowing to protect access to gender-affirming healthcare, another GOP target.

Donald Trump decrees forbidden terms denying sexual diversity
Donald Trump decrees forbidden terms denying sexual diversity

While the National Collegiate Athletic Association swiftly updated its policies to align with Trump’s order, the Maine Principals’ Association—which governs athletics for all public high schools and multiple private institutions in the state—confirmed earlier this month that it will continue allowing trans athletes to compete in girls’ sports. Mike Burnham, executive director of MPA’s Interscholastic Division, cited a 2021 update to state law.

As the Bangor Daily Newsdetailed Friday:

Between 2013 and 2021, the association allowed kids to compete in a manner consistent with their gender identity as long as there were no safety concerns. An MPA committee assessed cases one by one, and there were 54 such cases during that period. Only four involved transgender girls.

In 2021, the Democratic-led Legislature added education-related protections for gender identity to [the] Maine Human Rights Act. Since then, the MPA has allowed students to compete with those of their identified gender.

The Friday exchange between Mills and Trump—whose administration is engaged in a sweeping effort to erase trans people—came after the result of a recent pole vaulting state championship for high schoolers and one Republican lawmaker’s Facebook post about it garnered national media attention.

State Rep. Laurel Libby (R-90) on Monday posted a pair of photos identifying one Greely High School pole vaulter as trans and put the teenager’s preferred name in quotation marks. She later toldMaine’s Total Coverage, “I think we have a responsibility to protect girls’ sports, to protect Maine girls, and to ensure that they have a level playing field.”

The outlet noted that state House Minority Leader Katrina Smith (R-62) “shared on her Instagram the names and email addresses of the Maine Department of Education commissioner, the state attorney general, and the executive director of the Maine Principals’ Association telling constituents to call on them to follow President Trump’s executive order.”

Libby—who on Friday made several more Facebook posts highlighting Trump’s threat to Mills and thanking the president—has faced strong backlash from Democratic lawmakers and various other critics for her initial post bullying the teenage athlete.

“We have been reminded this week of the importance of respecting the privacy of Maine kids, and the value in treating people of all ages with kindness and decency,” Rep. Ryan Fecteau (D-103), the first openly gay speaker of the Maine House of Representatives, wrote in a Friday opinion piece for the Bangor Daily News.

“To young people who are members of the LGBTQ+ community, know that I see you and I stand with you,” he said. “After the events of this week, I ask all my legislative colleagues to recommit to keeping kids out of the political fray. They deserve better. There is a time and place for policy debates. That time and place will never be a social media post attacking a student. Full stop.”

Later on Friday, the Trump administration sent a letter to Maine Department of Education Commissioner Pender Makin announcing a federal investigation into the state agency and Maine School Administrative District #51, which includes Greely High School.

“Let me be clear: If Maine wants to continue to receive federal funds from the Education Department, it has to follow Title IX,” said Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights at the federal level. “If it wants to forgo federal funds and continue to trample the rights of its young female athletes, that, too, is its choice.”

Responding in a lengthy statement, Mills said that “no president—Republican or Democrat—can withhold federal funding authorized and appropriated by Congress and paid for by Maine taxpayers in an attempt to coerce someone into compliance with his will. It is a violation of our Constitution and of our laws, which I took an oath to uphold.”

“Maine may one of the first states to undergo an investigation by his administration, but we won’t be the last,” warned Mills, a former district attorney and state attorney general. “Today, the president of the United States has targeted one particular group on one particular issue which Maine law has addressed. But you must ask yourself: Who and what will he target next, and what will he do? Will it be you? Will it be because of your race or your religion? Will it be because you look different or think differently? Where does it end? In America, the president is neither a king nor a dictator, as much as this one tries to act like it—and it is the rule of law that prevents him from being so.”

“I imagine that the outcome of this politically directed investigation is all but predetermined,” she added, again pledging to fight Trump in court. “But do not be misled: This is not just about who can compete on the athletic field, this is about whether a president can force compliance with his will, without regard for the rule of law that governs our nation. I believe he cannot.”

This post has been updated to include the Trump administration’s letter to the Maine Department of Education and the governor’s response.

Original article by Jessica Corbett republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills responds to Donald Trump's threats saying "See you in court".
Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills responds to Donald Trump’s threats saying “See you in court”.
Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.

Continue Reading‘See You in Court,’ Maine Governor Says to Trump’s Face After Funding Threat

Maine Protest Urges General Dynamics to ‘Stop Arming Israel’s Genocide’

Spread the love

Original article by JESSICA CORBETT republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

Protesters gathered at a General Dynamics factory in Saco, Maine on January 3, 2024.  (Photo: Lisa Savage/X)

“Why do we tolerate this massive bomb factory here in Maine, exploiting the toils of local workers to aid with the intentional mass murder and displacement of innocent children and families in Palestine?”

Defenders of Palestinian rights on Wednesday organized a campout protest at a General Dynamics factory in the city of Saco, Maine to pressure the weapons giant to “stop arming Israel’s genocide in Gaza.”

The demonstrators, led by the Maine Coalition for Palestine, arrived at the roadway leading into the factory before dawn in an effort to prevent workers from entering the facility.

“Genocide in Gaza is currently supported by General Dynamics,” said organizer Lisa Savage of Solon in a statement. “It supplies Israel with the artillery ammunition and bombs used to kill and maim civilians and children in Gaza—which is illegal collective punishment.”

Since the Hamas-led attack that set off the war on October 7, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have killed more than 22,000 Palestinians in Gaza, injured over 57,000 more, and devastated civilian infrastructure including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques. A growing number of world leaders and legal scholars have accused Israel of genocide.

General Dynamics—which is headquartered in Virginia but has locations across the United States and around the world—is among a few dozen companies identified in an American Friends Service Committee database as aiding the U.S.-backed Israeli war effort with 155mm caliber artillery shells and the metal bodies of the MK-80 bomb series.

“Since October, more than 5,000 of the 500-lb MK-82 bombs—some made in Saco—have been given to Israel by the U.S.,” said Yusuf Ebrahim, an Iraqi American physician who participated in the protest. “These munitions play a particularly direct role in the ongoing criminal genocide of Palestinians by the IDF, targeting densely populated areas such as the Jabalia refugee camp.”

“Why do we tolerate this massive bomb factory here in Maine, exploiting the toils of local workers to aid with the intentional mass murder and displacement of innocent children and families in Palestine?” Ebrahim continued. “Meanwhile, many local community members suffer from hunger and housing insecurity and cannot afford medical care.”

Members of the Maine Coalition for Palestine include the groups Healthcare Workers for Palestine, the Maine Natural Guard, the Maine Party for Socialism & Liberation, Maine Voices for Palestinian Rights, Portland CONFRONT, and Students for Justice in Palestine from college campuses in the state.

The coalition’s Wednesday action came after a demonstration last month that drew more than 100 protesters to Bath Iron Works, a General Dynamics subsidiary that builds ships for the U.S. military.

The Bangor Daily News reported that Cecil Carey of Skowhegan, a teacher who spoke at the December event, said the group was protesting in Bath because the U.S. government has “got money for war but can’t feed the poor.”

“I do not want my tax dollars going to bomb people in the Middle East,” Carey said. “I want my tax dollars helping my students and their families.”

The United States gives Israel $3.8 billion in annual military aid each year and U.S. President Joe Biden has responded to the Israeli assault on Gaza by asking federal lawmakers for an additional $14.3 billion package that is still under consideration. Since the war began, the Biden administration has also twice bypassed Congress to enable arms sales to Israel.

Original article by JESSICA CORBETT republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

Continue ReadingMaine Protest Urges General Dynamics to ‘Stop Arming Israel’s Genocide’