ICE targets Somali communities in Maine in new Trump administration crackdown | ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
The Trump administration has launched another targeted immigration raid, sending federal personnel to the ocean fishing state of Maine in a plan the government calls Operation Catch of the Day.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) aims to crack down on Somali immigrants living in the northeastern state. Reported by New York Times.
The initiative officially launched on Tuesday. In a statement to the Guardian, ICE’s parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), said: “The arrests of the worst of the worst since the first day of operations have included illegal aliens convicted of egregious crimes such as aggravated assault, false imprisonment and endangering the welfare of a child.” The government provided criminal histories for four of the nearly 50 people ICE said it had arrested so far, providing no details about the backgrounds of the others.
The move follows similar efforts in Minneapolis in recent weeks that sparked demonstrations and criticism of the forceful methods used by ICE and border patrol officers against both people being pursued for deportation and protesters and activists who alert communities when immigration enforcement activity is seen nearby.
Thousands of bailiffs were mobilized to Minnesota. After Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer in Minneapolis earlier this month, ICE faced a storm of criticism, including from local officials, and the FBI subsequently excluded local prosecutors from the official investigation into the tragedy. Minnesota’s large Somali American community has been a particular and repeated target for Donald Trump.
Patricia Hyde, ICE’s deputy director, said: Fox News He said Tuesday that nearly 50 people have been detained in Maine so far as part of what he described as an increase in immigration enforcement.
Hyde also said ICE has compiled a list of 1,400 people it plans to target in Maine. The ICE officers shown in TV footage on Fox News making arrests so far were masked and all had their faces blurred, but those captured had no faces.
Many refugees from many African countries who entered the United States made Maine their home, contributing to the Somali community that began to form there when refugees settled in Lewiston in the early 2000s. Maine is still largely white and has one of the oldest populations in the country.
Meanwhile, many businesses are increasingly turning to immigrant workers to address labor shortages; because many domestic workers are retiring or leaving the workforce.
The US attorney’s office in Maine had hinted at the upcoming operation in a statement A statement was issued on Monday calling on people to demonstrate peacefully.
“If Maine citizens choose to exercise their rights to assemble and protest in the coming days, it is vital that these protests remain peaceful,” said Andrew Benson, the state’s U.S. attorney. “Anyone who forcibly assaults or impedes federal law enforcement, knowingly destroys government property, or unlawfully impedes federal law enforcement activities is guilty of a federal crime and shall be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline said Tuesday: a statement It was stated that ICE agents increased their presence in the state’s second largest city. He urged calm and encouraged residents to “check on each other.”
Last week, the Trump administration said it would end temporary protected status (TPS) for Somalis living in the United States, giving hundreds of people two months to leave the country or be deported.
The administration first signaled plans to lift protections for Somali citizens in November, when Trump wrote on his Truth Social account about Minnesota, which has a large Somali population: “Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great state and billions of dollars are missing. Send them back to where they came from. It’s over!”
