Maine Episcopalians respond to surge in immigration enforcement operations in the state

[Episcopal News Service] Episcopalians in the Portland-based Diocese of Maine joined thousands of faith leaders and pro-immigration advocates at rallies in Portland and Lewiston over the weekend to protest the recent surge in federal immigration authorities in the New England state.

“Our plan is to continue to speak into this moment for the church … to stand for the rule of law, to decry instances in which human dignity is eroded or disregarded,” Maine Bishop Thomas J. Brown told Episcopal News Service in a phone interview ahead of the rallies. “These [migrant communities] are our neighbors and they’re our friends, and the terror that is being inflicted upon a number of people is unnecessary and illegal.”

Brown was among the 1,200 people who marched in the first solidarity rally, which took place Jan. 23 at Monument Square in Portland.

About 1,000 people, including Brown, attended the second rally on Jan. 24 at the Angora Grand Event Center in Lewiston. Safiya Khalid, a Somali American politician who previously served as a member of Lewiston’s city council, organized the second rally, “ICE Them Out: Protecting Our Neighbors Across Maine,” which was sponsored by Multifaith Justice Maine, a coalition and project of the nonprofit Maine People’s Alliance.

The Lewiston rally took place the same day Alex Pretti, an intensive care unit nurse who worked at a Minneapolis Veterans Affairs hospital, was shot and killed by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents in Minnesota. A day before, on Jan. 23, as many as 50,000 people, including Episcopal bishops and clergy, marched in an anti-U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement demonstration in downtown Minneapolis.

The Jan. 24 shooting came 17 days after and ICE officer killed Renee Good on a residential street. 

Anti-federal immigration operations protests also have occurred this month in other states, including New York, Virginia, Iowa and more.

Maine is home to about 1.4 million people, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. The easternmost U.S. state has one of the highest concentrations of Somali residents in the United States, particularly within the cities of Lewiston and Portland. Thousands of Somali refugees began settling in Maine in the early 2000s to seek a safer environment with affordable housing and good public schools.

Lewiston, Maine’s second-largest city, especially benefitted from the refugees’ arrival, which resulted in economic improvement, population increase and reduced crime. Today, about 6,000 Somalis live in Maine, and many work in the state’s agriculture industry, own businesses and serve in city and state politics.

“The fact that ICE has decided to focus on a relatively very small number of people is clearly an attempt to terrify and to harm Black and brown people,” Brown said.

On Jan. 21, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security launched “Operation Catch of the Day,” an operation it claims is targeting “the worst of the worst” undocumented migrants with criminal backgrounds. The operation name references Maine’s seafood industry, especially lobster fishing, which is one of the state’s largest economic drivers.

“To use that phrase is to disrespect the immigrant community and also the fishing industry, which is so integral to Maine’s economy and to our culture,” Brown said. “There are hardworking and beautifully generous people who … make sure that there is food from the water to our market and to our table. For the federal government to use the phrase ‘Operation Catch of the Day’ is demoralizing to human dignity.”

Since taking office for a second term in January 2025, President Donald Trump has pursued policies to follow through on his campaign promise to oversee mass deportations of millions of people living in the United States without permanent legal residency status. ICE has so far arrested and detained tens of thousands of people, including legal U.S. residents with no criminal background.

The Department of Homeland Security claims to have already detained more than 100 people in Maine since Jan. 21, though many of them lack criminal records and are legal U.S. residents, according to immigration attorneys.

As of Jan. 8, 68,990 migrants and asylum-seekers are in ICE custody, according to the latest ICE and CBP data compiled by NBC News.

In a Jan. 23 pastoral letter condemning ICE’s actions in Maine sent to the diocese’s Dio Log newsletter, Brown said the most vulnerable people are “members of the church,” “residents of our neighborhoods” and “part of Maine.” 

“Whether we’re in Bangor or Rangeley, Lewiston or Winthrop, Portland or Camden – wherever we live and worship – we’re the body of the church, and when one of us suffers, we all suffer,” Brown said in the letter.

The Diocese of Maine is working with ecumenical, interfaith and secular partners, including the Maine Council of Churches and the Maine Immigrant Rights Coalition, to share information and resources, including legal resources and instructions on what to do when encountering ICE officers.

The diocese also is working with immigrant-led organizations based in Lewiston, Portland and Bangor to begin a food delivery program for asylum-seekers and refugees who are afraid to leave their homes while ICE officers conduct raids in Maine.

“These are working partnerships with immigrant-led communities, who have already been doing so much on the ground,” Brown said. “The [Diocese of Maine’s] role is just one part of the whole state.”

Additionally, the diocese has established a special “Support Our Vulnerable Neighbors” fund to give money to detained migrants. The money will be used to make phone calls, cover legal expenses and more.

For the next three weeks beginning Jan. 26 at 7 p.m., the Diocese of Maine will livestream special compline services on its YouTube channel to pray for migrants.

“I wish I could call every one of you with a similarly comforting – and galvanizing – message, to say we’re going to get through this, and with the Holy Spirit’s guidance, we’ll reach out our arms through deeds of mercy and compassion, and in peaceful protest and demonstration,” Brown said in his letter. “In every age and time, when people hurt and whenever human dignity erodes, faith leaders have stepped in. We are they who stand for the rule of law and for due process, and so we shall rise.”

The Episcopal Church offers several resources for Episcopalians engaged in immigration advocacy work, including its Protesting Faithfully toolkit. The resource offers “spiritual grounding and practical resources for faithful presence at protests and public demonstrations.” The church’s Immigration Action Toolkit shares resources from organizations that address migrants’ legal rights.

Every Tuesday at 1 p.m. Eastern, The Episcopal Church’s Office of Government Relations and Episcopal Migration Ministries host a webinar via Zoom sharing the latest updates on U.S. immigration policy and responses from churches and communities.

-Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.