Maine's Department of Transportation has carried out "sweeps," forcibly displacing unhoused residents. We're seeking information to learn more about the department's policies, practices, and cooperation with local governments.

As cities like Portland forcibly displace unhoused residents, they have cooperated with the state's department of transportation (DOT). We're seeking information to learn about the policies and enforcement practices happening throughout the state, how DOT is involved, and how towns and cities may be working with DOT. Policies like camping bans and sweeps harm unhoused residents, are a waste of resources that ignore the root causes of homelessness, and threaten unhoused people's constitutional rights.

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.

Date

Thursday, March 14, 2024 - 2:00pm

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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.

Date

Tuesday, January 17, 2023 - 2:00pm

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