ICYMI: Secretary Bellows Leads Opposition to ICE Activity in Maine
Augusta – Amid major increases in ICE’s presence in Maine, Secretary Bellows has been at the forefront of condemning the agency's actions and taking decisive action to protect Mainers under attack.
See below for coverage highlights:
Maine Public Radio: Shenna Bellows denounces use of voter rolls as 'ransom' for ICE agents to withdraw from states
Nicole Ogrysko 01/26/26
Secretary of State Bellows pushed back against claims from the federal government that if states met certain requirements, including turning over state voter registrations, they could potentially have ICE’s presence removed. When asked, Secretary Bellows said, “And it really indicates what has already been clear: ICE is invading our states and inflicting violence in Minnesota and now in Maine to create chaos and control our states and our elections.” Maine has not yet received an official request for voter registration information.
Newcenter Maine: Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows condemns ICE activity in Maine
Phil Hirschkorn 01/21/26
Secretary Bellows denounced ICE’s activities in an interview, saying, “People are being dragged out of their homes, stopped on the street, and detained, and in many cases, those individuals are legally here, either asylum seekers or refugees, new Mainers with legal status, or in many situations, citizens who are Black and brown…People are getting racially profiled, and they're getting kidnapped off the street, and that is absolutely wrong.”
Portland Press Herald: Maine secretary of state will keep saying no to undercover license plates for federal agents
By Rachel Ohm, January 21, 2026
We are not issuing unmarked plates to federal agencies until we receive further assurances that Maine plates won’t be used for lawless purposes,” Bellows said in an interview Wednesday. “I have deep concerns that what is happening right now in our communities violates the Constitution and established law.”
The request came amid rumors that federal authorities would be ramping up immigration enforcement activities. Bellows, who is running for governor as a Democrat, said Saturday that “abuses of power” by immigration agents in Minnesota and elsewhere in the U.S. prompted her department’s action.
