ICE to open facility in Newport soon, state lawmaker says
The building at 12 Water St. in Newport that formerly housed the Newport District Courthouse. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reportedly plans to build a facility at the location. (Daryn Slover/Staff Photographer)
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to build a facility in Newport, according to state lawmaker.
Rep. Mike Soboleski, R-Phillips, wrote in a Facebook post Wednesday that a “new facility will soon be under construction” where the Newport District Courthouse was located in a building at 12 Water St.
The court system hasn’t operated there for more than a year because of mold in the building. The judicial branch was a tenant, and the lease expired “many months ago,” spokesperson Barbara Cardone said on Friday morning.
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A spokesperson for ICE and the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to questions Friday about what the location will be used for.
Newport Town Manager Dylan Lajoie said Friday that he learned about the potential new office after reading a story first reported by the Bangor Daily News. He had heard rumors that a federal agency was interested in using the building, but he didn’t know it was ICE.
Lajoie said the town does not typically approve lease agreements between private property owners and tenants, and office spaces downtown usually require “minimal permitting.”
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The property owner, Bangor attorney Charles Cox, did not respond to requests for information on Friday, including whether the existing building will torn down. Lajoie said Cox had previously obtained building permits to address the mold issues.
Newport Selectman Richard Peck said Friday that he was not aware of plans for the office. Other selectboard members did not respond to requests for comment.
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ICE oversees a field office in Scarborough, where staff conduct check-ins with immigrants seeking legal status. Advocates said recently that ICE began mandating more people to complete their check-ins at the Scarborough office, in person, regardless of where they live in the state.
Newly released data, obtained from ICE by the Deportation Data Project, shows a significant number of arrests this year have occurred in Scarborough on designated check-in days.
There has also been a groundswell of opposition to the Scarborough facility by immigrant rights advocates, following heightened ICE activity around the state and the killing of 25-year-old Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, who was shot in Biddeford by an ICE agent in July. The shooting remains under investigation.
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“We are discouraged by the thought that something like this could be proposed in Newport,” said Panagioti Tsolkas, communications manager for the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition. “Any increase in ICE infrastructure in the state is a threat, and so far, with what we’ve seen in immigration enforcement over the past year especially, has not had any positive bearing on public safety.”
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Soboleski said he and four other Republican state lawmakers recently toured the Scarborough facility and were told that a man who had been booked there that morning was expected to be moved out of state within hours.
“We’ve all heard the heavily shaped opinions of protesters and the media, and (U.S. Rep.) Chellie Pingree unfairly criticize the facility as a ‘symbol of fear,’” Soboleski wrote. “After today’s visit I can say for a fact it’s quite the opposite. The illegals in custody are treated with respect, it’s clean, food and water are plentiful, and the holding units are large and well-lit with private lavatories.”
Rep. Mike Soboleski, R-Phillips, speaks during debate over an immigration bill in June 2025 at the Maine State House in Augusta. (Joe Phelan/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image
Soboleski said Friday that he didn’t have additional details about ICE’s plans and referred a reporter to the agency for comment.
Pingree, the Democrat who represents Maine’s 1st District in Congress, said the report of a potential Newport site is “deeply alarming.”
“The facility in Scarborough has become a painful symbol of fear and serves as constant reminder that the federal government has been weaponized against its people,” she said in a written statement. “We need ICE out of our state, not expanding its footprint in Newport or anywhere else in our communities.
“I will continue using every tool available to oppose this expansion and hold the Department of Homeland Security accountable to the people it is supposed to serve.”
Rep. Mathew McIntyre, R-Lowell, who attended the tour with Soboleski, said he overheard people talking during the tour about a potential office in Newport but did not participate in those conversations.
Rep. Ken Fredette, R-Newport, said he heard that the former courthouse had been rented out by a federal agency but said he didn’t know specific details.
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Tagged: Department of Homeland Security, ICE, immigration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Mike Soboleski, penobscot county
Morgan covers breaking news and public safety for the Portland Press Herald. Before moving to Maine in 2024, she reported for Michigan State University's student-run publication, as well as the Indianapolis. More by Morgan Womack
Emily Allen covers courts for the Portland Press Herald. It's her favorite beat so far — before moving to Maine in 2022, she reported on a wide range of topics for public radio in West Virginia and was. More by Emily Allen
