type: timeline_event
DHS launched Operation Catch of the Day, an immigration enforcement operation across Maine targeting what the agency described as "the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens." ICE had a target list of 1,400 people, representing approximately 10 percent of all immigrants without permanent legal status in the state. The operation's first day resulted in arrests for aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and endangering the welfare of a child.
Federal agents, many wearing ski masks and operating from unmarked vehicles, conducted traffic stops and detentions in Portland, Lewiston, Westbrook, South Portland, Biddeford, Scarborough, Waterville, and Belfast. A Maine Immigrant Rights Coalition hotline received 870 calls in one day, compared to 288 calls in all of December. Portland residents reported heckling masked officers and filming their operations.
Maine Governor Janet Mills criticized the operation, stating: "If the Federal government has warrants, then it should show them. But if they are separating working mothers from young children, solely because they sought freedom here and have committed no crime, then the Federal government is only sowing intimidation and fear." A Trump administration spokesperson suggested targeting Maine was partly a political response to the ongoing feud between the president and Governor Mills. Portland Mayor Mark Dion challenged "the need for a paramilitary approach to the enforcement of federal statutes."