Maine Communities Rally Around Immigrants Amid Surge in Federal Detentions

PORTLAND, Maine — Over the past year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been detaining immigrants across Maine at an unprecedented pace, sweeping through streets, workplaces, homes, and the federal detention center in Scarborough. The intensifying operations — which advocates say have upended lives and strained families — have prompted a corresponding surge in community resources aimed at helping those caught in the enforcement dragnet.

The acceleration began early this year, when federal authorities carried out a weeklong enforcement surge known internally as "Catch of the Day," arresting more than 200 people in Maine with a stated goal of placing 1,400 people in detention across the state. Since then, ICE has grown its Maine workforce by 44 percent. The exact total number of detentions in the state remains unknown; agency spokespeople did not respond to requests for that figure.

The impact on families has been severe. When primary earners are detained — or too frightened to leave home — households face sudden loss of income. In the first month of 2026 alone, Project Home, which assists renters facing homelessness, received hundreds of applications from immigrant households experiencing exactly that crisis. The organization launched an emergency fundraising campaign to cover rent payments, though that campaign has since closed.

"We have seen increased demand for immigration legal services over the past year, and that demand has intensified over the last six months and continued to grow over the past three months," said Charles Mugabe, director of refugee and immigrant services at Catholic Charities Maine. "The strengthening of immigration enforcement and changes in policy have created considerable uncertainty, including for people with legal immigration status."

The violence of the enforcement push was laid bare in July, when a recently hired ICE agent in Biddeford shot and killed Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero. Authorities later determined that Durán Guerrero had no criminal record and was not the intended target of the agents involved.

Against that backdrop, a broad network of nonprofit groups, legal organizations, and community coalitions has mobilized to provide services ranging from emergency housing and food delivery to courtroom representation and know-your-rights guidance. The effort spans legal aid, housing assistance, material support, and workforce integration — a patchwork response to what advocates describe as a systemic shift in federal priorities.

Legal Help for a Growing Need

The demand for immigration legal services has far outpaced existing capacity. Several organizations in Maine offer free or low-cost legal assistance, though many face months-long waitlists.

The Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, with offices in Portland and Lewiston, provides direct legal representation, helps clients complete immigration forms, and represents detainees facing deportation. It also assists asylum seekers and unaccompanied youth. The organization holds monthly walk-in sessions where attorneys answer brief questions and accepts urgent requests by email.

Catholic Charities Maine's Immigration Legal Services is one of just two organizations in the Greater Portland area accredited by the U.S. Department of Justice to advise clients on immigration matters. The program helps people apply for citizenship, permanent residency, and family-based immigration benefits. A 12-month waitlist is currently in place, though the organization states that no one is turned away for inability to pay.

Maine Equal Justice, a nonprofit specializing in civil legal matters and economic justice, helps low-income immigrants determine eligibility for public benefits, including food assistance and MaineCare. The University of Maine School of Law's Refugee and Human Rights Clinic fields teams of law students — supervised by faculty — who interview clients, explain their rights, and refer them to additional services each semester.

LighthouseME, developed in partnership with the Maine Immigrant Rights Coalition and Presente!, operates the Maine Immigrant Defense Hub, which aggregates resources and tracks ICE activity across the state. A hotline — 207-544-9989 — connects callers with guidance, referrals, and the ability to report enforcement encounters. The hub distributes know-your-rights information in Spanish, Portuguese, and other languages.

When Home Feels Unsafe

For many immigrant families, the fear of venturing outside has reshaped daily life. Some have stopped going to work. Others avoid public spaces altogether.

Presente!, a nonprofit serving Greater Portland newcomers, shifted to door-to-door food delivery rather than operating a traditional distribution site after community members expressed fear that gathering in one place could expose them to enforcement action. Volunteer drivers and community health workers deliver food boxes to residents of Portland, South Portland, and Westbrook twice each month.

Hope Acts offers transitional housing to asylum seekers in Portland, along with walk-in services for work permits and other needs on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoons. The organization also provides housing navigation support on Tuesday mornings and by appointment on Fridays.

Greater Portland Family Promise, which assists homeless and low-income families, provides emergency shelter, financial support, food, and help finding housing. Project Home, which serves roughly 400 families annually, has seen its caseload of immigrant households spike sharply.

Furniture Friends, based in Westbrook, collects donated furniture from individuals, hotels, restaurants, and retailers, then redistributes it to families in need throughout the Greater Portland area. Clients must be referred by a participating social service organization.

Getting By When Income Disappears

The detention of a household's main earner can quickly push a family into crisis. Project Relief Maine — a mutual aid group led by Black immigrants, operating outside the nonprofit framework — steps in to cover rent, food, transportation, and emergency expenses for families affected by ICE action. It also connects people with legal assistance.

Maine Needs distributes hygiene and cleaning supply kits to financially strained households, including newly arrived immigrant families, delivering items statewide. Food for All Services operates a free food bank and halal grocery in Portland, runs a network of halal school meal programs, and coordinates food deliveries through local mosques, offering culturally appropriate provisions for Muslim families facing food insecurity.

For longer-term stability, the New Mainers Resource Center helps skilled immigrants, asylum seekers, and refugees enter the American workforce through job placement, licensing support, skills recognition, and personalized case management. Scholarships for Maine Immigrants, serving York, Cumberland, and Androscoggin counties, funds English language courses and professional skills training for hundreds of immigrants each year.

In central Maine, the Capital Area New Mainers Project provides housing assistance, English language support, educational resources, emergency financial aid, and community integration programming. The MidCoast New Mainers Group connects newcomers with community members, funds scholarships, and coordinates cultural education and transportation assistance along the coast.

A Coalition of Support

The Maine Immigrants' Rights Coalition links more than 100 partner organizations offering legal, social, and economic support across the state. Its partner roster includes groups focused on housing, health care, legal services, and more.

For those seeking community connection, multiple Facebook groups have formed around specific ethnic communities in Maine, including groups for Angolan, Afghan, Burundian, Cambodian, Congolese, Somali, and Asian residents of the state.

Together, these organizations form a sprawling support system operating in parallel to — and sometimes in spite of — federal enforcement priorities. For families caught between the two, the difference can be existential.

Organizations mentioned in this article can be reached through their individual websites. The Maine Immigrant Defense Hotline is available at 207-544-9989.