The governor of Maine, Janet Mills, has demanded that ICE agents show arrest warrants during an intense raid campaign that began on Tuesday and has caused fear and concern in communities. "It is very harmful to a child's life, to a business, to a school, to a city, and it tends to generate a lot of fear and anxiety in families and communities," she said at a press conference. Mills called on agents to show judicial warrants: "In the U.S., we don't believe in secret arrests or a secret police." She stated that the operation in Maine, where ICE plans to detain 1,400 people, is because it is a Democratic state, similar to what has happened in Chicago, Illinois, California, and Minnesota. Sue Roche, executive director of ILAP, stated that ICE is doing everything in its power to inflict maximum cruelty and chaos. The group of lawyers confirmed that among those detained are a single mother who had just dropped her child off at school, a night-shift worker, and a father driving with his wife and one-month-old baby. Agents broke a car window despite being warned there was a newborn. A pregnant woman was terrified to leave her home for a medical appointment, and in one building, someone set off a fire alarm in a desperate attempt to save people from ICE. It was also reported that teachers accompanying immigrant children home were followed by agents. School districts in Portland, Lewiston, and Westbrook are on high alert, and children from immigrant families are not attending school. According to media reports, the Department of Homeland Security announced the operation in the state, where 50 people have already been detained. Immigrants are afraid to leave their homes, with volunteers providing them with food. There are also reports of racial discrimination on the streets and in cars.
