PORTLAND, Maine —
Maine’s Total Coverage asked viewers what issues they are most interested in learning more about heading into the midterm election.
After hundreds of submissions, one of the top issues on voters’ minds is immigration. Maine’s Total Coverage asked all the candidates for governor and congressional office about their stance on the issue.
Gubernatorial candidates
The race for the Blaine House began with two crowded primaries. Republican Bobby Charles was the winner of a seven-way ranked-choice voting primary and Democrat Hannah Pingree won in a five-way race. Independent Rick Bennett, who left the Republican Party last year, was the only independent who got the required number of signatures to get on the November ballot.
In January, the Trump administration launched “Operation Catch of the Day,” during which an increase in immigration officers came to Maine to detain what the Department of Homeland Security calls “the worst of the worst” and this summer, a fatal shooting of a 25-year-old Colombian man at the hands of an ICE agent.
A new law that does not allow local law enforcement officers to work with the federal government on immigration issues is also in effect in Maine.
Bennett said he’s concerned about the politicization of federal officers.
“I support meaningful guardrails around the ability for federal law enforcement to come in and command our state and local law enforcement, which is paid for with state and local tax dollars. And it shouldn’t be misused for some of these operations,” Bennett said.
Charles is supportive of law enforcement at all levels. He said we need to discourage illegal immigration, which is something he claims Democrats in Maine are doing. He added he does not support the new law limiting law enforcement communication.
“We need to reverse this sanctuary state status. This doesn’t work when you cut off communications between local and state on one hand, and the federal government on the other hand, the federal enforcement community, you blind both of them,” Charles said.
Pingree has called for the reform of ICE.
“Mainers do not appreciate ICE being in Maine. I would like to see ICE leave our state. I don’t think that they have made us safer. Obviously, the killing of a 25-year-old dad on his way to work. Somebody who is here legally, it’s completely unacceptable,” she said.
Not only has the state passed legislation to limit local law enforcement’s relationship with immigration officers, but many municipalities have as well.
Senate candidates
The midterms are high stakes for both parties. Democrats are hoping to take the majority in Congress, heading into President Donald Trump’s final two years in office. Republicans, who hold the majority in both chambers, want to keep it.
The highly-anticipated Senate race has been closely watched for months. Senator Susan Collins is seeking a historic sixth term in Washington. Democrat Troy Jackson replaced Graham Platner as the party’s nominee in late July after Platner dropped out following a sexual assault allegation he denies. Jackson, who finished third in the Democratic primary for Maine governor, now seeks to help Democrats flip the U.S. Senate.
The state of Maine has seen a high amount of immigration enforcement just this year alone, and both candidates for senate are weighing in on the highly-debated topic.
Jackson says he wants ICE abolished, pushing to put more funding into U.S. Customs and Border Protection instead.
He claims that ICE is tarnished and that some officers don’t have proper training.
“If I had the opportunity, I would put that law enforcement in Customs and Border Patrol. They used to do, you know, sex trafficking work, drug smuggling and all that,” Jackson said. “People saw them as legitimate law enforcement, but what we have now is not legitimate law enforcement, and I would cut the funding off for them.”
On the contrary, Senator Collins says she wants to keep ICE running. She says the work ICE does goes far beyond deportation, including investigations into human trafficking and drug smuggling.
“I don’t believe that people who are here legally and are waiting for an asylum hearing should be deported,” Collins said. “I don’t believe that people who are brought here as little children, they didn’t make the decision to violate the law and who have known no other country. I don’t believe they should be deported unless they have a criminal record.”
The senator does say the agency needs to be reformed, pointing to her effort to fund body cameras for ICE agents and getting them sent to Maine.
The senator also voted to approve roughly $70 billion in funding for ICE and Customs and Border Patrol earlier this year.
Candidates for Maine’s 1st Congressional District
The race for Maine’s 1st Congressional District is a rematch. Army veteran Ron Russell is challenging Congresswoman Chellie Pingree for her seat in Washington.
Pingree has held the congressional seat for nearly two decades. Russell ran against her back in 2024, but lost.
Russell secured the Republican nomination back in June, defeating newcomer Joshua James Pietrowicz.
Pingree says ICE is out of control and has said it should be abolished. She has spent a large part of this past year working with families who had someone detained by ICE.
“If they are willing to deal with the reforms that many of us believe are critically important, and if we can claw back some of the excessive amount of money that they have to hire officers, meet quotas, build these detention centers, I would consider allowing them to operate,” Pingree said. “But I have been saying it’s time to abolish ICE because their track record is horrendous.”
Russell, the Republican challenger, says he wants to keep ICE where it is. He says it doesn’t make sense to get rid of the agency, adding it has done some wonderful things in the past few years.
However, Russell does say ICE needs reform. He also says local, federal and state law enforcement should work together on these issues.
“When they don’t, we have things like what happened in Minneapolis and what happened in downtown Biddeford,” Russell said. “Now, after the fact, we are clamoring for an investigation to be joint with local, state and federal law enforcement working together and sharing information. We should have shared information beforehand, and the incidents most likely would never have occurred.”
Candidates for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District
The race for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District began when Congressman Jared Golden still planned to run for his seat.
Former two-time Republican Governor Paul LePage got in the race to take on Golden. LePage was uncontested in the primary. Democratic State Auditor Matt Dunlap filed paperwork to primary Golden.
Golden eventually left the race, and three other candidates got in to primary Dunlap.
Dunlap won in a four-way ranked-choice voting primary in June to take on LePage.
Dunlap said immigration is “a mess,” adding that the immigration process is confusing to navigate.
“We need to sit down as Republicans and Democrats, independents as well, and try to figure out what immigration should look like,” he said. “What does it mean to come here to study? What does it mean to come here to work? What does it mean to become an American citizen?”
LePage disagrees with the new law that limits local law enforcement’s contact with federal agencies. He said the United States has strong laws, but they’re not being enforced.
“Our immigration laws are antiquated. They need to be fixed, but the Democrats and Republicans don’t want to work together to fix it. And it’s really easy to fix. I don’t have a problem with allowing people to obtain work permits, buying a house, paying taxes,” LePage said.