Trump advisers accuse two Maine county jails of disobeying immigration law

Dec. 31—A nonprofit foundation made up of advisers to Donald Trump has sent a letter to officials in two Maine counties warning that they could face legal problems for violating federal immigration law.

Leaders in Hancock and Cumberland counties received a letter of “notice” from America First Legal, which is run by Stephen Miller, the president-elect’s former senior adviser for policy and his incoming homeland security adviser and deputy chief of staff for policy. The group sent 249 letters to elected officials across the country last week, warning them that their jurisdictions’ alleged “lawlessness” could land them behind bars.

The nonprofit said the officials preside over “sanctuary jurisdictions” and allege their policies unlawfully protect people who have been arrested on criminal charges and are believed to have immigrated illegally.

In June, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement identified jails in the two Maine counties, along with 146 other institutions nationally, as not fully cooperating with immigration detainer requests, which ask a law enforcement agency to notify ICE before releasing an inmate who may be living in the country illegally. The detainer requests ask the county jails to hold such inmates up to 48 hours beyond their scheduled release date until ICE can take them into custody and investigate whether they should be subject to deportation.

Hancock County Jail Administrator Timothy Richardson said Tuesday that he had not received the letter from the nonprofit and was not available for further questions.

Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce said in an emailed statement Tuesday that the sheriff’s office has never refused to assist ICE and is not “providing sanctuary.”

Miller, the president of America First Legal, is one of Trump’s longest serving aides and has been central to Trump’s zero-tolerance immigration policy decisions. Trump’s campaign this fall focused on his promises for stronger border restrictions and what he says will be the largest deportation program in U.S. history.

Mass deportations would require jails or other facilities to detain immigrants while they are processed. While it’s unclear exactly what mass deportations would look like under the new administration or who would be targeted, immigrants’ rights advocates in Maine are preparing to respond when more policy specifics are released.

The allegations in the nonprofit’s letter are reminiscent of a clash in 2020 between Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce and former U.S. Attorney Halsey Frank, who accused law enforcement of failing to comply with these requests and “imperiling the public.” Joyce also came under fire in 2017 when former Gov. Paul LePage ordered all sheriffs in the state to fully cooperate with ICE or be removed from office.

The letter cites multiple federal laws and outlines the potential punishment for breaking them, such as five years in prison for conspiring to “directly conceal, harbor or shield” someone who is living in the country illegally.

“Your jurisdiction’s sanctuary laws or policies therefore make a mockery of American democracy and demonstrate a shocking disrespect for the rule of law,” the letter says.

But Joyce maintains that he does not run a “sanctuary” office. He said holding an inmate beyond their official release date at ICE’s request could be a violation of that person’s constitutional rights and, ultimately, be considered false imprisonment by the sheriff’s office.

His position hasn’t changed since 2017, when he learned that sheriffs across the country were being sued by people wrongly detained because of ICE’s detainer requests. In response, he demanded that if ICE submits a detainer request, the agency must also provide him documentation to show probable cause for doing so.

“In some of the cases, the inmate was found to be a legal citizen and in another case, ICE never notified the Sheriff that (they) could release the inmate and the inmate was held for numerous days beyond their release date,” he said in a written statement Tuesday.

While ICE reported that the jail doesn’t provide adequate notice that an inmate is going to be released, Joyce said the facility has offered some advanced notice for ICE to take such people into custody and re-book them in the jail.

As of Tuesday, Cumberland County Jail has 33 people in custody for ICE. An ICE employee also works inside the jail, helping inmates with immigration court matters and other questions they may have.

“That is huge, because now if an inmate is scheduled to be released on state charges and ICE wants them held, the ICE employee takes them into custody,” Joyce said. “Thus making the detention an ICE detention and not putting the jail in a position of failing to release the individual lawfully.”

While the sheriff’s office will provide backup for ICE, it won’t act as ICE agents, Joyce said.

“We aren’t and won’t be out acting as ICE agents and rounding up individuals that we think are in the country illegally. We will provide backup for ICE upon request like we would for any other law enforcement agency,” he said in a written statement. “Our staff and I are sworn to enforce the law and to protect the constitutional rights of those whom we serve.”

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