Gov. Janet Mills on Monday allowed a bill that would limit Maine police’s abilities to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to become law on Monday.
Mills held onto the bill after the Legislature adjourned earlier this year, saying she had concerns about hampering law enforcement. But the Democrat cited President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration agenda in a Monday Op-Ed in the Portland Press Herald saying she would allow it to go into effect without her signature when lawmakers return in January.
The measure from Rep. Deqa Dhalac, D-South Portland, would not allow state and local law enforcement to work with ICE on immigration enforcement unless it’s related to a criminal investigation.
“I’ve weighed my concerns that it imposes confusing restraints on law enforcement about when they can and can’t interact with Federal authorities against the extraordinary and horrifying actions of a Federal agency that has been weaponized by the President to undermine the rights of us all. And I also agree with the bill’s aim of ensuring that Maine law enforcement are enforcing Maine laws, not Federal immigration law,” Mills wrote Monday.
Mills also repealed an executive order issued in 2011 by then-Gov. Paul LePage. The executive order “called for enhanced cooperation between state and Federal officials in the enforcement of Federal immigration law.” Her order asserts that “the resources of Maine state government must not be used to promote or support these abhorrent policies and tactics.”
Mills has joined Maine’s race for the Senate in 2026, alongside Democratic newcomer Graham Platner, in the hopes of ousting incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican running for her sixth term on Capitol Hill.
Republicans began to nod to the politics of the situation on Monday, when gubernatorial candidate David Jones issued a statement called the move “a political stunt to rally her left-wing base, win the primary and block Trump.”
“By restricting law enforcement access to individuals already in custody, this law shields criminals and weakens efforts to prevent violent crime,” Maine House Republicans said in a statement.