Federal immigration agents have apprehended more people in Maine in the first seven months of 2026 than in the two previous years combined. Only one of them has ever been convicted of a violent crime, according to government records. Newly-released Immigration and Customs Enforcement administrative data — obtained through Freedom of Information Act litigation by…
Lawyers and judges. The NRA. The clergy. And now, Sen. Susan Collins. Sen. Collins has struggled to take a strong stand on the ICE surge – but even she has now come out against the agency’s presence in Maine. In an interview with Maine Public, Collins said that she has asked Department of Homeland Security…
As ICE agents continued to operate in Maine on Thursday, they have detained at least three people who seem to be just going about their lives, and to not be the master criminals the Trump administration claims to be targeting in Maine. They include a civil engineer, a student at the University of Southern Maine,…
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agencies are officially out in droves in Maine right now. According to Fox News (whose reporters the agency brought with them into the area), ICE has already detained nearly 50 people. ICE is reportedly targeting about 1,400 people in the state that it says have criminal convictions. Of the 50…
For the first podcast of the new year, Esther is joined by former podcast host Sen. Mike Tipping to preview the legislative session and talk about some priorities, including health care access, taxing the richest Mainers more fairly, and combating ICE’s terrifying tactics closer to home. They also talk about what’s been happening in Minnesota…
This week on the podcast, Ben interviews Vincent Bevins, journalist and author of the new book If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and the Missing Revolution. Bevins discusses the mass movements of the 2010s across the world, where they failed and how change can be made. Ask a question or leave a comment for…
This week on the podcast, Esther and Cate discuss new rules proposed for the implementation of the paid family and medical leave program passed by the legislature last year as well as the fight over funding for South Portland’s Human Rights Commission. They also talk about a sad book and a happier TV show. Ask…
This article was first published by OtherWords. “How we gonna pay last year’s rent?” the chorus implores in the song “Rent” from Jonathan Larson’s 1996 musical of the same name. It’s the same refrain for many Americans today. A new Harvard study found that half of U.S. renter households now spend more than 30 percent of their income on rent and…
Immigrant rights advocates in Maine are condemning a bill by Rep. Jared Golden that would enact widely-criticized border policies similar to Trump-era rules and add more obstacles for people seeking asylum in the U.S. They say the Second District Democrat is adopting Republican anti-immigrant rhetoric and his policy proposals will exacerbate the humanitarian crisis on…
Larry Lockman, who has a long history of extreme anti-LGBTQ, anti-abortion and anti-immigrant activism, says he is pursuing a lawsuit attacking transgender rights in Maine with the help of attorney Jack Baldacci, the son of former Gov. John Baldacci. Lockman shared the news in an email to supporters after he hosted a community forum in…