President Donald Trump’s administration has announced its latest immigration enforcement operation, this time in the northeastern state of Maine.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed Wednesday that an immigration search had begun the previous day under the name “Operation Catch of the Day.”
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A Trump administration spokesperson appeared to suggest in a statement that targeting Maine was a political response to the ongoing feud between the president and Democratic Gov. Janet Mills.
“Governor Mills and Maine’s sanctuary politicians have made it clear that they would rather side with criminal illegal aliens than protect law-abiding Americans,” spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
However, there are rumors that the state of Maine, where many Somali-Americans live in the cities of Portland and Lewiston, has been targeted. Estimates put the total number of Somali Americans in the state at approximately 3,000.
President Trump has repeatedly criticized the Somali community over the past few months, comparing members to “trash” at a Cabinet meeting in December. As recently as Tuesday, he used the White House podium to call Somalis and Somali-Americans “a lot of people with very low IQs.”
Racist and anti-immigrant rhetoric has been a trademark of Trump’s campaign for public office, and he has repeatedly named specific groups, including Haitians and Mexicans, and falsely linked immigrant identity to widespread criminal activity.
Similarities to Minnesota
President Trump’s focus on the Somali community comes after a small number of its members were implicated in a fraud scandal in the midwestern state of Minnesota, where an immigration crackdown began in December.
Those efforts have been marked by violent clashes between federal agents and protesters, including one woman, Renee Nicole Good, 37, who was shot and killed in her car after an interaction with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Concerns that those tensions could spill over into Maine dominated Wednesday’s press conference with Portland city officials.
Mayor Mark Dion told reporters that the area’s immigrant community is feeling “anxious and fearful” as ICE officers begin their crackdown.
“They see this behavior as unpredictable and a threat to their families,” he explained.
He also questioned whether heavy-handed operations are needed to address immigration violations in the region and called on ICE to adopt different tactics than those in Minnesota.
“I want to emphasize an important point: While we respect the law, we challenge the need for a paramilitary approach to federal law enforcement,” Dion said.
“Federal immigration laws are lawful, and so are their administration and enforcement,” he added. “What concerns us as Congress is the enforcement tactics that ICE is conducting in other communities, which in our view appears to be intimidating and intimidating residents.”
Nevertheless, Dion expressed optimism that ICE will take a more individualized approach to arresting local suspects.
In Minneapolis, Minnesota, where nearly 2,000 immigration agents have flooded the streets, the mayor predicted there would be no similar “mass murder of federal agents” in Maine.
“We’re seeing a very individualized operation by ICE. There’s a person here, there’s a neighbor there,” he said. “Their actions, at least as things stand now in Maine, seem to be focused, which indicates to me — and this is speculation — that they are operating on an actual court warrant.”
He said this marks a departure from the “random document-seeing experience” that Minnesotans have experienced.
Anger over ICE operations
Still, while Dion advocated a wait-and-see approach to ICE operations, other city officials took a harder line.
Portland City Councilman Wesley Pelletier called the ongoing attacks part of “white nationalism and the agenda of justice through force.”
“This is a war on terror waged by the federal government against our city,” Pelletier said. “We’ve seen people of all ages being thrown to the ground or thrown into trucks.”
So far, Fox News quoted ICE Assistant Deputy Director Patricia Hyde as saying the agency has arrested 50 people as part of Operation Catch of the Day. Hyde added that ICE has identified approximately 1,400 people to be detained in Maine.
A statement from the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday highlighted the four arrests, citing people from Sudan, Guatemala, Ethiopia and Angola.
Authorities described the four as “the worst of the worst” and charged them with crimes ranging from aggravated assault to endangering the welfare of a child, although it was unclear whether the charges led to convictions in one case.
“We will no longer allow criminal illegal aliens to terrorize the American people,” McLaughlin said in a statement.
But state Democratic officials have suggested the Trump administration has refused to make any adjustments toward the “Catch of the Day,” raising concerns at the local level.
On January 14, nearly a week before the operation began, Governor Mills posted on social media that he was “attempting to confirm, but so far have been unsuccessful” about the upcoming surge in federal immigration enforcement.
He said in a video statement that the state has reached out to local governments in Portland and Lewiston to get ready. She added that she also felt “angry” about the expected surge.
“Our goal, as always, is to protect the safety and rights of Maine people,” Mills said.
“To the federal government, I say this: If your plan is to come here and be provocative and undermine the civil rights of Maine people, don’t mess around. Those tactics are not welcome here by Maine people.”
She also criticized the trend of federal employees using masks and other facial coverings to hide their identities.
“Maine knows what good law enforcement looks like because our law enforcement agencies are held to high professional standards,” Mills said. “They have a responsibility to the law. And let me just say this: They’re not wearing masks to protect their identity, and they’re not arresting people to meet their quota.”
political conflict
Mr. Mills and Mr. Trump have long been political adversaries, and their feud has erupted in public. In February of last year, shortly after Trump returned to office for a second term, he hosted a gathering of governors at the White House, where he personally addressed Mills.
“Is Maine here? Are you the governor of Maine?” Trump said while outlining a policy that would ban transgender athletes from attending sporting events. “Are you planning on not complying?”
“I follow state and federal law,” Mills responded. The tension rose from there.
President Trump countered, saying, “If you don’t comply, you’ll lose all federal funding, so you better comply.”
“I’ll see you in court,” Mills replied.
“Okay, I’ll see you in court. I’m looking forward to it. It should be really easy. And enjoy the rest of your life, Governor, because I don’t think you’ll ever be an elected politician,” he said.
The exchange made national news and solidified the icy relationship between the two leaders, with President Trump demanding an apology and lashing out at the Democratic governor for months afterward.
The administration also took a series of escalating actions targeting Mills, including starting an educational study in the state, ending marine research grants, and freezing other federal funding to Maine.
In response to this week’s ICE deployment, Mills issued a short statement acknowledging the Trump administration’s recent efforts.
“Together, we will continue to prioritize the safety and civil rights of Maine people above all else, and we will remain vigilant in upholding due process and the rule of law,” she wrote.
Maine is scheduled to hold its next gubernatorial election in 2026 as part of this year’s midterm election cycle.
Mills, who served two terms as governor, is not eligible for re-election and will instead run for the Senate against Republican incumbent Susan Collins.
