A cell phone image shows an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainment Thursday morning on the southbound shoulder of Route 4 near the intersection of Alumni Drive and Jagger Mill Road.
Photo: Courtesy of Marsha Garnecky
By Lee Burnett
A mother of two was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Route 4 in Sanford on Thursday morning.
The woman’s identity was verified by Marsha Garnecky, a trained verifier with Mainers for Humane Immigration, who said she obtained a photo of the detainment from a Facebook group and spoke with the woman’s husband.
An advocate who knows the detained woman and said her legal status is beyond reproach. Heidi Barker, who has provided mentoring and other support services for Sanford’s immigrant community for the past three years, says she can vouch for the woman because she helped her keep her documents current.
“If she isn’t safe, then none of them are. That blows everything up,” she said. The woman, who had been on her way to work as a dishwasher in Wells, was initially taken to the ICE facility in Scarborough and has been in touch with her husband, said Barker, who advises all immigrants to carry their legal documents, including visa, passport, Social Security card, work papers and immigration court papers, at all times.
It was the second detainment this week of a Sanford resident of African descent, according to Garnecky, who said she verified a father and a husband from Angola was taken into custody Tuesday when he showed up for a scheduled appointment at the ICE facility in Scarborough.
Reports of ICE’s presence in Maine have triggered fear in Maine’s immigrant communities. People are afraid of being seen on the street and are staying home from shopping, appointments and jobs if they don’t have rides, according to Barker, who fielded calls and texts all day Thursday from frightened students and parents.
Barker drove one frightened woman home from work mid-shift Thursday after getting assurances from her manager that the woman would not be penalized for leaving work early. The woman had just returned to work after medical leave while her infant was in the intensive care unit at Boston Children’s Hospital. “I didn’t want her to take that risk. Think of a baby with no mother,” said Barker. She said she personally negotiated with a store manager, who readily agreed to give the woman unpaid time off. Barker said the manager gave her the impression that they were willing to give other scared immigrants unpaid time off without fear of losing their jobs.
The Department of Homeland Security has dubbed its stepped-up enforcement in Maine as “Operation Catch of the Day.” A spokesman for ICE told Fox News the agency has 1,400 targets in Maine and had made 100 arrests by Thursday. The sweep has been condemned by many politicians and sparked citizen protests and outpourings of aid. Gov. Janet Mills decried “police state” tactics and said she doubts there are 1,400 immigrants in Maine with criminal records. Mills said she has heard many of the people detained are employed and have no criminal record. “That’s concerning,” she said at a press conference Thursday, according to WMTW-TV. Secretary of State Shenna Bellows denied the agency a request for confidential undercover license plates, saying she wants more assurances they will be used properly.
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