Three months after federal immigration agents fatally shot Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Biddeford, Democrat Troy Jackson criticized Sen. Susan Collins for supporting billions in immigration enforcement funding during Tuesday night’s third U.S. Senate debate.
“This agency is so rogue that I don’t know that it can be reformed,” Jackson said, calling for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be abolished and its law enforcement responsibilities transferred to other federal agencies.
Collins opposed eliminating ICE, instead defending funding for body cameras and training.
“The shooting in Biddeford was horrific,” Collins said. “… But we cannot completely abolish ICE, as Troy has called for many times.”
Jackson argued those provisions lacked meaningful accountability, saying officers are not required to release body-camera footage unless doing so is in the agency’s interest.
Jackson also criticized Collins for voting to advance Trump’s federal budget, which included massive cuts to Medicaid, arguing that the rural health care funding she helped secure would not come close to making up for the losses facing Maine’s health care system. The rural health fund will not fully offset an estimated $137 billion in Medicaid cuts to rural areas nationwide over the next decade.
Collins faced criticism over the war in Iran, which has driven up heating oil prices ahead of Maine’s winter.
“We can’t afford this war because people are going to start losing their businesses,” Jackson said. “People are going to start losing their homes that are tied to these businesses.”
On abortion rights, Jackson criticized Collins for confirming Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who later voted to overturn Roe v. Wade. Jackson acknowledged that his own positions had changed, contrasting his support for expanding reproductive rights in Maine with Collins’ continued defense of her Kavanaugh vote.
“Was I voting the wrong way? Yeah. And I’ve said that consistently,” Jackson said. “But the fact of the matter is that I can admit when I was wrong. Senator Collins can’t.”
Throughout the debate, Collins emphasized her nearly three decades in Washington and her leadership of the Senate Appropriations Committee, pointing to federal funding she has secured for Maine. Jackson argued that her seniority has not translated into meaningful opposition to Trump’s policies.
“She’s powerful toward election time, but she’s weak every time that we need her to stand up and fight for us,” Jackson said.
The candidates are scheduled to meet for their fourth and final debate Thursday, Oct. 15, ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
RELATED: Collins defends Kavanaugh vote and ICE as Jackson presses her record in first debate
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