Court records raise doubts that ICE is detaining the ‘worst of the worst’ in Maine
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Immigration and Customs Enforcement says Maine’s most dangerous criminals last week’s operationsBut court records paint a more complex picture.
Federal officials say more 100 people were detained in the state In what ICE calls “Operation Capture of the Day,” a reference to the fishing industry. ICE said in a statement that it had arrested the “worst of the worst,” including “child molesters and hostage takers.”
Court records show some were violent criminals. But they also show other detainees whose immigration cases were outstanding or who were arrested but not convicted of a crime.
Immigration lawyers and local officials say similar concerns have emerged in other cities where ICE has increased enforcement, and many of those targeted have no criminal record.
One case highlighted by ICE involving serious felonies and criminal convictions is that of Sudanese native Dominic Ali. ICE said Ali was convicted of false imprisonment, aggravated assault, assault, obstruction of justice and violation of a protective order.
Court records show Ali was convicted in 2004 of violating a protective order and in 2008 of second-degree assault, false imprisonment and obstructing reporting of a crime. In the second case, prosecutors said the man threw his girlfriend onto the floor of his New Hampshire apartment, kicking her and breaking her collarbone.
“His behavior was nothing short of torture,” Judge James Barry said in 2009 before sentencing Ali to five to 10 years in prison.
Ali was later paroled into ICE custody, and in 2013 an immigration judge ordered his removal. No further information was available from the Office of Immigration Review Enforcement and it remains unclear what happened after this order.
Other cases were more nuanced, such as that of Elmara Correia, an Angola native who ICE said in publicizing the operation had “previously been arrested for endangering the welfare of a child.”
Maine court records show a person by that name was charged in 2023 with violating a law regarding learner permits for new drivers; this case was later dismissed.
Correia filed a petition Wednesday challenging his detention, and a judge issued a temporary emergency order barring authorities from transferring him from Massachusetts, where he is being held. He entered the United States legally about eight years ago on a student visa and was never subject to expedited deportation proceedings, his lawyer said.
“Is he found not guilty or do we accept that he was arrested?” Portland Mayor Mark Dion said at a news conference that he expressed concern that ICE was unable to distinguish between arrests and convictions or disclose whether sentences were being served.
Dion also pointed to another person named in the statement: Dany Lopez-Cortez, who ICE said was an “unlawful criminal alien” from Guatemala who was convicted of operating under the influence.
ICE highlighted Lopez-Cortez’s case among a small group of examples it said reflected the types of arrests made during the operation. Dion questioned whether a conviction that is a serious crime but executed under influence, which is common in Maine, should rise to the level of ICE’s “worst of the worst” public narrative.
Boston immigration attorney Caitlyn Burgess said her office filed habeas petitions Thursday on behalf of four clients who were detained in Maine and transported to Massachusetts.
Burgess said the most serious charge they faced was driving without a license, and all had pending immigration court cases or applications.
“Habeas petitions are often the only tool available to stop expedited transfers that deny access to counsel and disrupt pending immigration proceedings,” he said.
Attorney Samantha McHugh said she filed five habeas petitions on behalf of Maine detainees on Thursday and expects to file three more soon.
“None of these individuals have a criminal record,” said McHugh, who represents a total of eight detainees. “They were eating lunch at work when unmarked vehicles arrived and immigration officers trespassed on private property to detain them.”
Federal court records show that immigration cases involving criminal convictions can go unsolved or be revisited years later.
Ambessa Berhe is another whose mugshot is included in materials about the “worst of the worst” of those detained in Maine.
Berhe was convicted of cocaine possession and assaulting a police officer in 1996, and of cocaine possession in 2003.
In 2006, a federal appeals court in Boston vacated his deportation order and sent the case back to the Board of Immigration Appeals for further consideration.
According to the ruling, Berhe was born in Ethiopia and later taken to Sudan by his adoptive parents. The family was admitted to the United States as refugees in 1987, when he was 9 years old.
ICE said the operation targeted about 1,400 immigrants in a state of about 1.4 million, roughly 4% of whom were foreign nationals.
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Associated Press reporter Rodrique Ngowi contributed.
