Overview
- DHS updated its tally to more than 200 arrests in Maine, reiterating that the surge targets violent offenders, and officials say the list includes roughly 1,400 people.
- Immigrant legal groups report many detainees have no criminal records or are in lawful processes, with ILAP citing emergency requests from over 60 arrestees and at least eight transfers to Louisiana.
- One transferred detainee told family he was among about 100 men sleeping in tents near an active tarmac, with limited food and no lawyer access, according to ILAP.
- Sen. Susan Collins asked DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to pause operations in Maine and Minnesota, called for an independent review, and warned agents may be entering the field with inadequate training; DHS has not agreed to halt.
- Community tension escalated as volunteers reported agents threatening observers at their homes, Maine’s attorney general set up an email to report intimidating conduct, and Portland police arrested nine faith leaders at a pray-in at Collins’ office.