Maine faith leaders held a prayer gathering at the Portland office of Sen. Susan Collins to urge her to reject the Department of Homeland Security funding bill and for her to call for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to end its operation in Maine. (Derek Davis/Staff Photographer)

As the federal immigration crackdown in Maine continues, gun rights advocates here and elsewhere have pushed back against the Trump administration’s assertion that Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti was a “domestic terrorist” for carrying a gun prior to his death at the hands of federal agents over the weekend.

Meanwhile, Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey has moved to join Minnesota’s lawsuit against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in an effort to halt increased activity by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other DHS agencies. Frey’s office also announced Monday that it has created a tip line where Mainers can report misconduct by federal agents.

A DHS spokesperson said Monday in a statement that more than 200 people have been detained statewide since the beginning of “Operation Catch of the Day” a week ago.

Read our updates from Monday here.

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7:10 p.m. ‘Now it’s your turn’: Minneapolis school board chair addresses Portland school board, offers encouragement

Portland should be prepared for difficult times but ready to show its humanity, Minneapolis Board of Education Chair Collin Beachy told Portland’s Board of Public Education on Tuesday night.

Beachy said immigration enforcement in his city had affected schools. He described an ICE pursuit that ended at dismissal time outside of a district high school, where ICE agents mistook students for protestors, pepper sprayed a dozen of them and tackled and arrested two teachers. He also mentioned several district students, including a five-year-old, who were detained.

Beachy pointed to the large turnout at a protest amid freezing weather on Friday as a sign of hope.

“Now it’s your turn,” Beachy told Portland Board Chair Sarah Lentz and other board members. “Show us your strength, show us your determination, show us your community, show us Portland.”

He said Minneapolis schools have still been places of learning and care since the ICE operation began and offered encouragement to Portland as it faces a similar situation.

— Riley Board

5:55 p.m. Maine’s education commissioner speaks with her counterpart in Minnesota

Maine Commissioner of Education Pender Makin spoke with her counterpart in Minnesota, Commissioner Willie Jett, earlier this month to “gain an understanding of the scenarios that schools in that state have been observing, as it pertains to the presence of ICE,” a Department of Education spokesperson said Tuesday.

Makin shared advice, based on that conversation, with Maine superintendents from communities where ICE activity has been high. That included encouraging superintendents to update policies around interacting with immigration enforcement agents and communicate protocols with staff and telling them to prepare for possible staffing interruptions and potential student protest walk-outs.

Read the full story here.

— Riley Board

2:50 p.m. Portland police arrest 9 faith leaders at protest at Sen. Collins’ office

Maine faith leaders held a prayer gathering at the Portland office of Sen. Susan Collins to urge her to reject the Department of Homeland Security funding bill and for her to call for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to end its current operation in Maine. Nine people were arrested for criminal trespass after refusing to leave her office. (Derek Davis/Staff Photographer)

A “pray in” protest outside of Sen. Susan Collins’ office ended in Portland police arresting nine faith leaders for criminal trespassing Tuesday.

A group of about two dozen faith leaders sang their way into the elevators at 1 Canal Plaza in Portland around 12:30 p.m. and crowded into the hallway outside Collins’ eighth floor office.

The group, representing nearly 10 denominations, was there to urge Collins to call for an immediate end to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement campaign in Maine and to vote against a Department of Homeland Security funding bill that would provide further funding for ICE.

Portland police Maj. Jason King said the arrests were made after the protesters were given warnings to leave the hallway and small office following fire code concerns. While most left, nine stayed. King said they “asked to be arrested.”

When the protesters first arrived, there was some initial friction with Collins’ staff, with lead staffer Halsey Frank telling the crowd that the use of recording devices and blocking the hallway was “not acceptable.”

“We don’t find what’s happening in our streets right now acceptable,” a protester responded.

Three members of the group, including Christine Dyke, lead minister at First Parish Congregational Church in Gorham, had a short meeting with Frank, after which Dyke said they planned to stay until they received a response from Collins.

“We were kind and cordial as we spoke but very firm that we consider this cruel behavior and this is a moral imperative for us be here and speak,” she said.

Earlier, Dyke had told Frank that two members of her congregation have been detained by ICE in recent days.

“The people that are being removed are following the rules and are still being taken,” she said. “We need (Collins) to stand up and stand against (ICE). We need her to use her power today and tomorrow to make that change.”

Read the full story here.

— Andrew Rice

2:15 p.m.: Calls to ICE activity hotline slow down

Since a winter storm blanketed Maine with snow over the weekend, people have reported less ICE activity, according to the organizers of an ICE activity hotline.

While calls to the hotline spiked last week, organizers at the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition said they are still receiving calls about ICE sightings, but at slower rate than last week. The quieter start to the week comes days after officials at the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that more than 200 people had been arrested since ICE’s enhanced operation began last Tuesday.

Mufalo Chitam, the coalition’s executive director, said there was less reported ICE activity over the weekend, but it hasn’t stopped completely.

Chitam said volunteers are working to understand ICE tactics and patterns of increased enforcement. Even if there appear to be fewer apprehensions than last week, she said people are still seeing unmarked cars and agents patrolling their neighborhoods.

Read the full story here.

— Morgan Womack