Maine will be limiting how its state and local authorities interact with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, further amplifying how immigration is becoming a key issue in northeastern races in the 2026 midterm elections.
Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat running for Senate, announced on Tuesday that she would allow LD 1971 to go into effect next month. The proposal allows for authorities to comply with federal immigration officials only for an additional criminal probe, not just for immigration reasons, according to Bangor Daily News.
“As a former District Attorney and Attorney General and now as Governor, I carefully considered this bill. I’ve weighed my concerns that it imposes confusing restraints on law enforcement about when they can and can’t interact with Federal authorities against the extraordinary and horrifying actions of a Federal agency that has been weaponized by the President to undermine the rights of us all. And I also agree with the bill’s aim of ensuring that Maine law enforcement are enforcing Maine laws, not Federal immigration law,” Mills wrote in a Portland Press Herald op-ed.
She said the bill is “imperfect,” but Maine law allows the bill to go into effect if she chooses not to directly veto it days after the Legislature comes back, according to a press release.
“LD 1971 is imperfect, and we should not need it, but the times call for it. We cannot turn a blind eye to ICE’s unacceptable actions, and so I have chosen to allow LD 1971 to become law,” she continued. In addition, Mills announced in a press release that she scrapped former Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s 2011 Executive Order that allowed “for enhanced cooperation between state and Federal officials in the enforcement of Federal immigration law.”
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The National Republican Senatorial Committee took aim at Mills on her decision.
“Radical Janet Mills is trying to BAN Maine law enforcement from working with ICE so that criminals illegal immigrants can stay in the state,” the NRSC posted to X. “Mills continues to put Mainers last EVERY TIME.”
Mills is in a closely-watched primary contest against populist veteran Graham Platner, who’s been riddled with a wide range of scandals. Whoever wins the primary will face off against Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) in what promises to be a competitive November general election.
Abigail Jackson, White House spokeswoman, told The Daily Wire, “Every locality should be willing to cooperate with ICE officers to get dangerous criminal illegal aliens out of their communities. It’s common sense.”
The governor’s decision and the criticism from the NRSC are showing how immigration has turned into an issue far beyond the southern border for the midterms. Although the Northeast is thousands of miles away from the United States-Mexico border, ICE has conducted major operations in Boston and the New England region, which has sparked outrage among Democrats.
In Massachusetts, anti-ICE activist Jonathan Paz announced a primary challenge to House Minority Whip Katherine Clark on Monday, and touted immigration as a major campaign issue.
“From organizing renters’ rights in Waltham to standing up to big tech and now resisting Trump’s ICE, I’ve seen what’s possible when we organize our communities and stay true to our principles,” Paz said in his campaign launch video.
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