Maine State Police: Cooperation with Federal Immigration Enforcement Agencies

During traffic stops, Maine State Police have called federal immigration agents to the scene and taken people to federal immigration agents following the stop. We're demanding information to learn more about Maine's cooperation with federal immigration agencies.

When state and local police cooperate with federal immigration agencies, many of their practices are rife with racial profiling and stereotyping. Some people may fear traveling in their own communities, knowing state police may deliver them to federal agents simply because of the color of their skin, their name, their accent, or their language.

When state and local law enforcement agencies carry out harmful immigration policies on behalf of the federal government, they expose state and local governments to even more legal liability and harm other investigations. For instance, if state police violate a person's civil rights while enforcing federal immigration law, the state is liable for their actions even though the officers were not even acting to enforce state law. Additionally, witnesses to incidents like a car accident may be less likely to come forward to share what they saw if they may be targeted in the process.

We're demanding information about:

1. All Maine State Police (MSP) traffic stops in which the individual stopped was taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) custody between January 1, 2019, and January 17, 2023.
2. All documentation associated with the stops in item 1.
3. All documentation showing the number of people MSP transferred or released to ICE or CBP custody between January 1, 2019, and January 17, 2023.
4. All communications between MSP and ICE or CBP regarding the transportation of people who are not US citizens.

See our request in the PDF at the bottom of this page or here.

This request is in progress and the page will be updated after we have received and analyzed all relevant documents. Last updated: June 3, 2024.