Graham Platner, the insurgent Democrat running for the Senate in Maine, is coming out swinging against President Trump’s immigration enforcement tactics, calling it “absolutely disgusting” and urging activists to be the “bulwark against ICE.”
Mr. Platner, who has called for abolishing ICE, pointed to what happened during the Trump administration’s migrant crackdown in Minnesota, saying federal agents “murdered” Renee Good and are now showing up in Maine to “drag Mainers out of their homes and kidnap them off of our streets, based on nothing but racism and lies.”
“It is absolutely disgusting,” he said Thursday.
The Trump team’s immigration crackdown is becoming a major dividing line heading into the fall midterms, with Republicans trying to hold onto their congressional majorities.
In Maine, the debate is drawing attention to Sen. Susan Collins, who analysts say is the most vulnerable Republican senator up for reelection.
The five-term incumbent is also one of the few Republican senators Trump hasn’t endorsed, which has revived questions about how strong her MAGA support really is — and whether she needs it to win in a state that has rewarded her independent streak time and again.
Ms. Collins, for her part, is trying to strike a balance on the immigration push.
“People who are in this country legally should not be targets of ICE investigations,” she said in a statement this week. “They should be able to continue to go to work, school, and other public places and carry on with their normal lives.”
But she also stressed that migrants who entered illegally and committed crimes are “subject to arrest and deportation,” and she warned protesters not to interfere with law enforcement.
Her comments echoed those of Democratic Rep. Jared Golden, who recently announced he won’t seek reelection after concluding that Congress has become too polarized.
“So long as this remains a targeted law enforcement operation focused on individuals who have engaged in criminal activities, then I believe it legitimately serves the public interest,” Mr. Golden said.
Mr. Platner and his main Democratic rival, Gov. Janet Mills, have taken a different road — steering against ousting migrants.
Ms. Mills has anchored her campaign in past clashes with Mr. Trump, treating them almost like a badge of honor, while the president has accused her of supporting “sanctuary” policies that shield illegal immigrants from deportation.
In a video last week, Ms. Mills pushed back hard against reports of an upcoming ICE surge.
“To the federal government, I say this: If your plan is to come here to be provocative and to undermine the civil rights of Maine residents, do not be confused — those tactics are not welcome here,” she said. “Maine knows what good law enforcement looks like. … They don’t wear a mask to shield their identities, and they don’t arrest people to fill quotas.”
Mr. Platner, meanwhile, is urging Democrats to go even further.
He argues against caution or symbolic gestures.
“This is not the time for our leaders to drag their feet or merely express their concern. Simply saying we will fight back is not enough,” he said Thursday. “We need to actually fight back. That means organizing. It means showing up in the streets. It means holding ICE and this administration accountable.”
Maine GOP Chair Jim Deyermond said Democrats are “unhinged” and that the Trump administration is targeting the 1,400 criminal migrants reportedly living in the state.
“Maine Democrats are telling Mainers to resist, protest, and interfere with ICE, which is causing anger, panic, and could lead to violence,” Mr. Deyermond said in a statement.
He said the state’s Democrats are “pushing an agenda that will leave Maine people vulnerable to criminal illegal immigrants so they can get attention and campaign donations.
“They are playing a dangerous game for purely political purposes.”
