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PORTLAND, Maine — <\/span>The Trump administration is now targeting its mass deportation campaign on Maine, a state with relatively few residents in the United States illegally but a notable presence of African refugees in its largest cities.<\/p>\n The Department of Homeland Security named the operation \u201cCatch of the Day,\u201d an apparent play on Maine\u2019s seafood industry, just as it has done for other enforcement surges, like \u201cMetro Surge\u201d in Minnesota and \u201cMidway Blitz\u201d in Chicago.<\/p>\n Reports of a surge in immigration arrests have struck fear in immigrant communities of Portland and Lewiston and prompted backlash from Gov. Janet Mills and other Democrats, including a refusal to help ICE agents obscure the identity of their vehicles by issuing undercover license plates. <\/p>\n Citizens have formed networks to alert neighborhoods to the presence of ICE agents and bring food to immigrants in their homes, and Portland’s superintendent said the school district is developing an online learning plan for its students \u2014 more than half of whom aren’t white. Many businesses have posted signs saying ICE agents aren’t welcome. <\/p>\n \u201cWhile we respect the law, we challenge the need for a paramilitary approach,\u201d Portland Mayor Mark Dion said Wednesday at a news conference where he was joined by other local officials. \u201cThis council doesn\u2019t stand apart from our immigrant communities, we stand with them.\u201d<\/p>\n Portland and Lewiston have thousands of residents of African descent, including many from Somalia<\/a>.<\/p>\n Somali immigration into Maine accelerated in the early 2000s, and the state now has one of the highest percentages of Somali residents in the country. Immigrants and asylum seekers from other countries followed.<\/p>\n Now the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement<\/a> agents is causing great anxiety in Portland, said city council member Pious Ali, a native of Ghana.<\/p>\n \u201cOur schools have seen about a quarter of immigrants not showing up,\u201d Ali said, and many fear going to work as well: \u201cThere are immigrants who live here who work in our hospitals, they work in our schools, they work in our hotels, they are part of the economic engine of our community.\u201d <\/p>\n ICE agents don’t need to spread trauma by smashing doors and windows, he said: “The federal government has the ability to contact these people without unleashing fear into our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n The enforcement action is arriving in Maine, a mostly rural state with about 1.4 million residents, as confrontations<\/a> between ICE and demonstrators continue in Minnesota, where ICE is under scrutiny<\/a> following an agent\u2019s fatal shooting of Renee Good.<\/p>\n ICE didn\u2019t respond to a request for comment Wednesday on the agency\u2019s plans for Maine, where U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that increased enforcement began on Tuesday. \u201cWe have approximately 1,400 targets here in Maine,\u201d Patricia Hyde, the ICE deputy assistant director, told Fox News.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have launched Operation Catch of the Day to target the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens in the state. On the first day of operations, we arrested illegal aliens convicted of aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and endangering the welfare of a child,\u201d said Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a statement.<\/p>\n Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a longtime opponent of President Donald Trump, said state officials received a request from U.S. Customs and Border Protection for confidential, undercover Maine license plates and decided against issuing them. The licenses plates are used on unmarked vehicles and Bellows said she wants more assurance they will be used appropriately. <\/p>\n ICE\u2019s use of license plates in other states has raised concerns: Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, a Democrat, issued a warning to ICE agents last year that swapping or altering license plates is illegal.<\/p>\n \u201cThese requests in light of rumors of ICE deployment to Maine and abuses of power in Minnesota and elsewhere raise concerns. We have not revoked existing plates but have paused issuance of new plates. We want to be assured that Maine plates will not be used for lawless purposes,\u201d Bellows said.<\/p>\n Bellows has run afoul of Trump and his administration before. In 2023, she sought to remove his presidential candidacy<\/a> from the state\u2019s ballot, arguing that Trump had engaged in insurrection in violation of the 14th Amendment. More recently, she has refused to hand over the state\u2019s voter rolls<\/a> to the federal government. <\/p>\n Customs and Border Protection did not respond to a request seeking comment, but a top Maine Republican said withholding the undercover plates would jeopardize public safety.<\/p>\n \u201cThat really, one, puts us at odds as a state. Puts us at one end of an extreme that we really shouldn\u2019t be on,\u201d Senate Leader Trey Stewart said.<\/p>\n Maine\u2019s top federal prosecutor, U.S. Attorney Andrew Benson joined Democrats in calling for any demonstrations in the state to remain peaceful and civil. Benson, a Trump appointee, warned people to stay out of the agents’ way or be prosecuted.<\/p>\n Gov. Mills has pushed back, as have mayors, school district leaders and numerous community organizations. Mills said aggressive enforcement actions that undermine civil rights are \u201cnot welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline said ICE enforcement has been causing \u201canxiety, fear or uncertainty\u201d for many.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no evidence of unchecked criminal activity in our community requiring a disproportionate presence of federal agents,\u201d Dion said.<\/p>\n Portland Public Schools, the largest and most diverse school district in the state, said in a statement Wednesday that it conducted a \u201clockout\u201d at two schools to prevent anyone from entering the building during the school day Tuesday because of concerns about ICE activity nearby.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was quickly determined that there was no threat to our school communities and the lockouts were lifted within minutes. This is an understandably tense time in our community, as reports and rumors of immigration enforcement actions grow,\u201d the district’s statement said.<\/p>\n Maine Democrats have condemned the ICE activity.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Trump administration has deployed ICE agents to Portland, Lewiston, and possibly other Maine communities. This is not about public safety. It is about fear, control, and political theater,\u201d Devon Murphy-Anderson, executive director of the Maine Democratic Party, said in a statement Wednesday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n