To the editor:
We have all seen the news about federal abuses of power in immigration enforcement in this country. The violations and errors are well-documented. Our rights are increasingly tenuous. There is abundant evidence that collaborating with an administration that denies our constitutional rights decreases community safety and erodes trust in local authorities. My husband experienced this first hand under Chile’s 17-year dictatorship. I never thought I’d see the day that this country would offer my husband the prospect of living under a similar regime.
When our community is under attack, we must show up and demand the highest protection possible. And communities in Maine are doing just that. An article last month (11/7/25) by ACLU Maine stated that “local officials across the state are introducing measures to ensure their communities are not complicit in civil liberties violations carried out under President Trump’s “mass deportation” agenda.”
Such is the case in Rockland, where community members have asked the City Council to defend civil liberties and make their community safer by passing an ordinance to restrict cooperation between Rockland city employees and federal immigration enforcement.
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At a standing-room-only City Council meeting in June, and another in November, speakers overwhelmingly voiced their support of passing such an ordinance. Since that time, residents have indicated that they are prepared to speak again at a city council meeting planned for December 8 – and to keep showing up for those who cannot, or dare not, do some themselves because they feel under attack for simply existing in this country right now.
There have been a handful of efforts over the years to limit local police involvement in federal immigration enforcement in Maine. In 2003, Portland enacted an ordinance that prohibited inquiries into immigration status by Portland city staff. In 2017, Mount Desert Island was the first town in Maine to declare itself a “sanctuary community” through a non-binding resolution. Later that year, Bar Harbor voters supported a similar declaration.
In June of this year, both chambers of the Maine legislature passed a bill (LD 1971) to limit state and local law enforcement involvement that is solely focused on federal immigration enforcement efforts. Governor Janet Mills has the option to veto that bill or allow it to become law without her signature.
The Rockland ordinance has been a five-month, collaborative process informed by the city councilors, Rockland Chief of Police, and ACLU of Maine. Since it passed first reading last month by a vote of 4-1, some have suggested that an order (instead of an ordinance) would be just as good as an ordinance.
According to ACLU Maine, however, an ordinance is the more powerful form of protection. It carries more weight and is harder to revoke. If the Rockland ordinance were to pass, it could help establish precedent and serve as a model to inspire other jurisdictions in Maine to follow suit.
The people have spoken. We want an ordinance, and we want it now. Let us insist on the highest possible protections for the most vulnerable among us.
Sincerely,
Hannah Murray
Rockland
