Under Janet Mills’ watch, Maine has become a sanctuary state for illegal immigrants. She recently expanded MaineCare to give taxpayer-funded healthcare to “pregnant people” with or without citizenship.
Now, she is allowing a bill to become law banning state law enforcement from working with federal agents, specifically ICE. As first reported by the Daily Caller:
Maine is set to become a de-facto sanctuary state for illegal immigrants in the final year of Democratic Governor Janet Mills’ term.
Mills, a two-term governor vying to defeat Republican Maine Sen. Susan Collins during November’s midterm elections, declined to veto a bill limiting local law enforcement’s collaboration with federal immigration authorities in December. Republicans and law enforcement groups argued the sanctuary state proposal will keep dangerous criminals on the street by shielding illegal immigrants from federal immigration enforcement.
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Mills cited the Trump administration’s aggressive illegal immigration crackdown in an op-ed expressing her support for the bill, adding that the measure is “imperfect,” but necessary in her view.
“We cannot turn a blind eye to ICE’s [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] unacceptable actions, and so I have chosen to allow LD 1971 to become law,” Mills wrote.
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The overwhelming majority of illegal immigrants arrested during Trump’s first year in his second term have criminal histories, the Washington Examiner first reported. Of the 595,000 illegal immigrants ICE arrested between Jan. 20, 2025 and Dec. 11, 70%, or just over 415,000, have criminal convictions or pending criminal charges in the United States.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, also ripped Mills for refusing to veto the sanctuary state proposal. The NRSC is expected to aggressively defend Collins’ seat, which Democrats view as a must-win state to retake Senate control during the midterms.
“There is no excuse for allowing criminal illegal immigrants to wreak havoc on Maine’s communities and harm children,” NRSC regional press secretary Samantha Cantrell said in a statement.
A spokesperson for Mills did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
Mills has also come under scrutiny for expanding taxpayer-funded health care to illegal immigrants during her tenure as governor.
Individuals under 21 and pregnant women are eligible for full Medicaid benefits, locally known as MaineCare, regardless of immigration status due to a bill Mills signed as governor. The Office of MaineCare Services uses the term “pregnant people” instead of pregnant women.
Read more here.
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