Mainer who spent years in solitary confinement gets $250K settlement from state
Zachary Swain’s story shocked advocates when the BDN published a detailed account of his time behind bars.
What is Maine Focus?
Maine Focus is the Bangor Daily News’ investigative team, telling important stories that hold public figures and institutions accountable and make an impact in communities across the state. Its reporters focus on bringing new perspectives to the forefront. The team began as a community engagement project in 2013. Its reporters have done the state’s most ambitious journalism since then, chronicling the life and death of a young man who was addicted to heroin, illuminating a culture of sexual misconduct in the Maine National Guard, and telling the story of a man who spent years in solitary confinement. In 2025, BDN partnered with The Maine Monitor to strengthen investigative journalism in Maine and expand public access to the reporting. All reporting from this collaboration is free to read on bangordailynews.com.
Maine Focus Staff
Callie Ferguson is the deputy investigative editor and a reporter who focuses on Maine’s criminal justice system. She was a finalist for the Livingston Award in 2022. The next year, she joined the inaugural class of local investigations fellows at The New York Times. Callie graduated from Bowdoin College and lives in Westbrook.
Contact Callie: cferguson@bangordailynews.com / 207-990-8258
Sawyer Loftus is a reporter covering housing as part of a fellowship with the investigative outlet ProPublica. He was named the state’s journalist of the year by the Maine Press Association in 2024. Sawyer is a University of Vermont graduate who is based in Bangor.
Contact Sawyer: sloftus@bangordailynews.com / 207-217-1450
Lori Valigra is the environment reporter. She was a Knight journalism fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has extensive international reporting experience in Europe and Asia. Lori graduated from Boston University. She designed the western Maine log cabin in which she lives.
Contact Lori: lvaligra@bangordailynews.com / 207-990-8272
Michael Shepherd is the editor who oversees Maine Focus. He has led the BDN’s political coverage since 2019. He is a University of Maine graduate with a masters degree from the Muskie School of Public Service. He lives with his family in Augusta.
Contact Michael: mshepherd@bangordailynews.com / 207-370-7652
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Latest Stories
Why Mainers aren’t getting their blood tested for PFAS
The 164 positive tests the state has collected since last fall likely represent a fraction of the people exposed to high PFAS levels.
FBI investigating alleged assault on border officer in Lubec
The assault happened after the suspect allegedly failed to stop at the border crossing, prompting a pursuit.
Judges in Maine cases admonish ICE for falsehoods and violating court orders
Four federal judges have ordered ICE to release detainees after discovering the agency filed documents that were false or ignored a judge’s order.
The strategy behind Maine lawsuits against chemical giants
Maine lawsuits have added to the thousands nationwide against 3M, DuPont and 18 more companies that made PFAS or sold products containing it.
Maine congressional offices are fighting ICE to get immigrants’ documents back
Immigrants are seeking help retrieving personal documents, like work permits and passports, that weren’t returned when they were released.
Woman held by ICE describes poor conditions at a Maine jail
The case of a Connecticut woman is the first example of an immigrant criticizing conditions in a Portland jail that has generated headlines around its role in the national enforcement surge.
Judge orders former Maine youth prison guard arrested after 3rd court no-show
John Emerton allegedly lifted a 16-year-old off the ground by the neck in a 2024 case that is a rare example of a guard being arrested for on-the-job conduct.
Maine Japanese restaurant chain says 5 arrested cooks had valid work permits
The arrests took place during the height of a massive immigration enforcement operation in Maine last month and has strained the Kobe Japanese Restaurant chain, an attorney for the men said.
ICE said it was arresting ‘the worst of the worst’ in Maine. We only found a few criminals.
The BDN used court records and other sources to identify 67 of roughly 200 people arrested in Maine during last month’s surge.
A quarter of people arrested in Maine’s ICE surge are challenging their detentions
The Trump administration described its surge as targeting criminals. Dozens have gone to court and told a different story.
ICE demanded Maine sheriff’s employment records following his criticism of arrest
The subpoena came a day after Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce blasted immigration agents for arresting one of his guards.
Judge rules federal agents violated rights of workers who fled them in Bethel
The arrests came just days before U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement launched a large-scale enforcement action centered on southern Maine cities.
Maine’s ICE surge is over, but arrested immigrants remain scattered across the country
One of the several unknowns is what may happen to the more than 200 people that federal officials say were arrested in the first five days of the operation.
Where reports of ICE activity are coming in across Maine
The Maine Immigrant Rights Coalition’s ICE hotline logged nearly 650 sightings in the seven days since the massive operation began.
They watched immigration agents in Maine. Then one fired projectiles at their cars.
One observer said ICE agents approached an older woman driving a Volkswagen who had gotten closest to the officers, spoke with her, and then fired projectiles at her.
Lawyer for immigrant removed from Maine jail accuses ICE of lying in court
Judges freed two immigrants who were held at the Cumberland County jail until Thursday, when they were abruptly removed following Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce’s criticism of immigration agents.
Maine is using outdated rules to close contaminated compost plant
Maine regulators are using an outdated rule to review the closure of a contaminated compost plant, raising concerns about inadequate cleanup.
Why it’s hard to figure out where Maine immigrants go after ICE arrests them
ICE detainees are often moved quickly out of state, with one Maine immigrant getting to Massachusetts before winning a court order that blocked such a transfer.
ICE removes detainees from Portland jail after sheriff criticizes agents
It is unclear whether the federal government or Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce’s office initiated the removals.
The working immigrants caught up in Donald Trump’s crackdown on Maine
The focus on Maine has brought the might of the federal government down on a state with one of the smallest immigrant populations in the country.
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