Maine Senate Candidate Proposes Major Changes to ICE

Maine Democratic Senate hopeful Troy Jackson announced on Thursday his intention to cut funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and reassign its responsibilities to Customs and Border Protection (CBP). He described ICE as irreparable during a debate with incumbent Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) on WMTW.

Jackson, a logger from Allagash and former president of the Maine Senate, responded to a moderator’s question about the continuation of ICE funding. Having taken over as the party’s nominee from Graham Platner in July, he pointed to a recent incident involving an ICE agent who fatally shot a man in Biddeford as evidence of the agency’s dysfunction.

“This agency is so rogue that I don’t know that it can be reformed,” Jackson stated. “But I know for a fact that people are always going to know ICE as an outfit that has murdered at least four people here in this country, and that that is not law enforcement,” he added.

If I had the opportunity, I would place law enforcement duties under Customs and Border Patrol. They used to handle cases involving sex trafficking and drug smuggling, and people recognized them as legitimate law enforcement. What we have right now is not legitimate law enforcement, and I would cut their funding.

In response, Collins, who is pursuing a sixth term, dismissed Jackson’s push to abolish ICE, pointing out that his viewpoint wasn’t new.

“We need to reform ICE further. There’s no doubt about that,” stated Collins, chair of the Appropriations Committee. “But we cannot completely abolish ICE, as Troy has called for many times. ICE plays a crucial role in deporting violent criminals, like the member of the Venezuelan cartel who killed a 22-year-old nursing student. Their duties also encompass investigating child exploitation, drug smuggling, and other serious crimes. Do we really want to make the country less safe?”

Collins noted that she had secured $20 million for body-worn cameras to enhance accountability. Jackson countered by arguing that such camera footage wouldn’t have necessary oversight, claiming that recordings may not need to be released “unless it’s in the best interest of ICE.”

Jackson’s stance is echoed by other Maine Democrats; for example, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows previously stated, before withdrawing from the Senate race, that it was essential for Democrats to defeat Collins “because we do need to abolish ICE.”

The man involved in the Biddeford incident, identified by the Maine Attorney General’s Office as 25-year-old Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero from Colombia, was under a final order of removal. It was reported that the agents involved were not wearing body cameras at the time of the shooting.