Vote Down L.D. 366
As if local law enforcement and municipalities in Maine don’t already have their hands full, Rep. Lawrence Lockman, R-Amherst, now wants them to enforce federal immigration regulations, too. His bill, L.D. 366, “An Act to Ensure Compliance with Federal Immigration Law by State and Local Government,” requires towns and government officials to report undocumented immigrants to federal immigration agencies or lose state funding and potentially face personal liability. This makes no sense.
The bill takes decision-making authority away from local law enforcement agencies and will require them to use their limited budgets and staff to arrest, detain, and transport undocumented immigrants, rather than to focus on the activities that they believe will best ensure the safety of their communities. Local law enforcement is charged with keeping communities secure, and that goal is undermined if people are afraid to go to the police to report a crime or seek help. There is a federally funded and trained force to do this work — let them do it!
In addition, the bill will likely lead to unconstitutional racial profiling. If police officers are going to be open to personal liability in the event an undocumented immigrant causes injury, you can be sure officers who want to avoid being accused of failing to enforce federal immigration laws will be aggressive in checking an individual’s immigration status based on the person’s appearance, and that will lead to lawsuits filed against police officers.
The bill says to immigrants that Mainers don’t want them here, because they must prove their immigration status whenever interacting with law enforcement or local municipalities. This adds to the anti-immigrant sentiment that is inconsistent with our history as a state that has learned to welcome folks “from away” for many decades. Maine’s population is the oldest in the country and its growth has been stagnant for decades – new Mainers will fill vacant jobs and help breathe life into the economy.
Maine’s interests are not served by this proposed legislation. Please encourage your representatives to vote down L.D. 366.
Kim Anderson True,
Freeport
Susan Peck,
Carrabassett Valley
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less