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Maine ACLU: Local Law Enforcement Isn’t Required to Uphold Immigration Policy

The American Civil Liberties Union of Maine is urging local sheriffs and chiefs of police to resist pressure from the Trump administration to participate in immigration enforcement. And the ACLU is warning law enforcement that if they do participate, they’ll face legal liability.

Under an executive order signed by President Donald Trump, local towns and cities are expected to provide direct support to U.S. immigration policy. If they don’t, the order threatens to strip them of federal grant funding.

But ACLU of Maine Legal Director Zach Heiden says if communities buckle under that pressure, they will violate the rights of their residents.

“Everyone here in Maine, and everyone across the country, has the right to be free from discrimination and racial profiling. But when local police officers, who don’t have a lot of training in immigration law, start to try to act like immigration enforcers, it’s more likely they’re going to engage in racial profiling, violating the Constitution,” he says.

Heiden says federal law does not require local law enforcement agencies to participate in immigration enforcement. And in a letter sent to Maine law enforcement on Thursday, the ACLU said it will provide support to them if they request it.

Both the Maine Sheriff’s Association and the Maine Chiefs of Police Association say they’ve scheduled meetings to discuss the issue and develop recommendations.

“I think everybody is doing their job. And the job is to protect the public, and I don’t believe there’s any issues there,” says Robert Schwartz of the Chiefs of Police.

But Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project Executive Director Sue Roche says since the immigration order, she has seen an uptick in what she describes as “concerning” incidents.

“We have seen some cases where local law enforcement in certain areas of the state have been asking people for their immigration status,” she says.

Roche says asking about immigration status is not related to public safety, and she’s concerned about the confusions and fear that the executive order has created.

“People from the immigrant community need to feel they can reach out to their police when they need protection, when they want to help out with an investigation, and it really creates a climate of fear when they feel local law enforcement is enforcing federal immigration laws,” she says.

Roche says a number of Maine cities have adopted laws that specify a separation between local and federal immigration law.

Meanwhile, she and Heiden are concerned about a bill in the Maine Legislature that would bolster the Trump administration’s immigration agenda.