It has been three days since operation “Catch of the Day” was kicked of by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Maine and DHS boasts the arrests of “more than 100 illegal aliens.”
Oh Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told The Guardian some of those arrested were among “the worst of the worst” and had previously been “charged and convicted of horrific crimes,” however, she failed to cite new examples.
ICE Deputy Assistant Director Patricia Hyde told Fox News the agency had a list of 1,400 Maine targets.
Maine Leadership Response to ICE Invasion
Immigrant rights groups are on alert in Portland and Lewiston. Organizers have reported agents are targeting African nationals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, and Angola. Many of these people are asylum seekers who have been in the coastal state for decades.
An ICE sighting hotline has been setup by the Maine Immigrant Rights Coalition. On Wednesday, they received over 1,100 phone calls, a 35 percent increase from the day before. According to a recent reported from the Migration Policy Institute, four percent of Maine’s total population is immigrants and most of them have legal status to live and work in the United States.
Gov. Janet Mills held a press conference in Portland Thursday morning saying her office has received reports of people being detained with no criminal record and encouraged DHS to be transparent in their actions, according to The Guardian.
Mills said, “If they have warrants, show the warrants. We don’t believe in secret arrests or secret police.”
Additionally, Mills spoke of the widespread fear in Maine schools and workplaces. Businesses are losing employees because they have either been detained or are too fearful to leave home despite their legal immigration status.
twenty-eight-year-old Cristian Vaca is an immigrant form Ecuador living in Maine legally with his wife and young son. Earlier this week, federal officers were taking pictures outside his home. They attempted to coax him outside but when he refused they threatened to “come back for your whole family.”
Vaca told the AP he is a roofer. “I have been in this country since September 2023. I have immigration status … the judge postponed my court date to another day. Now I have a new court date. I have my work permit. I have my social security number [sic].”
Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce reported one of his corrections officer recruits was arrested. “This is an individual that had permission to be working in the state of Maine. We vetted him.”
Joyce was one of the 100 national sheriffs to meet with Tom Homan last year. On Thursday, Joyce told reporters, “The book and the movie do not line up. We’re being told one story, which is totally different than what’s occurring.”
ICE officials contacted Joyce stating detainees in the Cumberland county jail were being moved on Thursday. He said “about 50” people were removed from the jail. The Department of Homeland Security has not said where the detainees are being held as Maine does not have a dedicated detention facility for immigrants.
Fear Among the People
The Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project (ILAP) has received several fearful phone calls as the crackdown continues. ILAP is the only immigration legal services organization in Maine. A pregnant woman called because she was “terrified to leave her home to go to a medical appointment.” Another caller said someone “pulled the fire alarm in her building, desperately trying to save people from ICE.” A report was also made of teachers escorting immigrant children home from school followed by federal agents who pushed their way into the lobby of an apartment building.
Maine ICE Watchers
Volunteer ICE watchers around the state find, follow, and report the locations of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. They are on the lookout for out-of-state license plates, especially gray Ford Explorers, masked drivers, and vehicles with tinted windows.
Each community linked through a group chat driving around the city. They are there to monitor ICE activity, especially during the times children are going to and coming from school.
The National Coalition Against Censorship asserts the First Amendment protects people’s right to observe, monitor, and record federal law enforcement.
Renee Good was observing the federal officers in Minneapolis after she dropped her children off at school when she was fatally shot by ICE on Jan. 7.
“This was not about ICE doing their job, this was about a federal agent using intimidation to discourage lawful civic activity in my own community,” stated Erin Cavallaro, a Maine volunteer who said officers came to her home. “What I was doing was lawful.”
“Our goal is to bear witness to ICE activity in our community. To document what we see, and ensure transparency and accountability — not to interfere with law enforcement.”
By Jeanette Vietti
Sources:
The Guardian: ICE arrests 100 people three days into Maine immigration crackdown, DHS says
Axios: Scoop: Mills flew to California fundraisers while ICE raided Maine
Portland Press Herald: ICE watchers in Maine say they were threatened by federal agents
Featured Image Courtesy of Adam’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
