Jan. 21 (UPI) — Immigration and Customs Enforcement initiated Operation Catch of the Day in Maine on Wednesday and arrested several people on its first day.
The Department of Homeland Security announced the new ICE operation, saying those arrested on day one include “illegal aliens” who have been convicted of many crimes, including aggravated assault, false imprisonment and endangering the welfare of a child.
“Governor [Janet] Mills and her fellow sanctuary politicians in Maine have made it abundantly clear that they would rather stand with criminal illegal aliens than protect law-abiding American citizens,” said Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.
“We have launched Operation Catch of the Day to target the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens in the state,” McLaughlin said. “Under President [Donald] Trump and [Homeland Security] Secretary [Kristi] Noem, we are no longer allowing criminal illegal aliens to terrorize American citizens.”
While McLaughlin referred to Mills and others as “sanctuary politicians in Maine,” neither the state nor any of its cities appear on the Department of Justice’s list of sanctuary states, counties and cities.
Maine’s governor last week said state and local officials have prepared for the federal immigration law enforcement operation there.
Mills on Jan. 14 said officials tried to learn more about the ICE operations in Maine, including when and how they might work.
“My administration is taking proactive steps to prepare,” Mills said in a social media post on Jan. 14.
“I have directed the Maine State Police to work closely with local law enforcement as necessary to provide whatever support is needed in advance of and during any potential federal operations,” she said.
“We also have been in touch with city officials in Portland and Lewiston, as well as the [Maine] Attorney General’s Office, to coordinate our response,” Mills explained.
“Our goal, as always, will be to protect the safety and the rights of the people of Maine,” she continued.
“Maine knows what good law enforcement looks like because our law enforcement are held to high professional standards,” Mills said. “They don’t wear a mask to shield their identities, and they don’t arrest people to fill a quota.”
She said if the federal government’s plan is “to be provocative” and to “undermine the civil rights of Maine residents,” such tactics are not welcome in the state.
Mills urged Maine residents and others who intend to protest ICE activities in Maine to do so peacefully and stay “reserved and resolved” if they encounter any hostility.
