A video from a Portland, Maine city council meeting recorded on May 4 resurfaced on social media and went viral this week, revealing tensions over sanctuary policies. Democratic Mayor Mark Dion acknowledged the city’s past efforts to protect illegal immigrants but admitted local laws cannot fully halt Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations. “They don’t have any sense of what they’re supposed to do; they just go out and do things impulsively and destructively,” Dion stated during the session.
Dion opposed a new ordinance requiring city employees to actively oppose ICE, insisting his objections were not partisan. “Where I do have a fundamental disagreement is the nature of our employees,” he said. “My sense of it [is] if they want to come, they’re coming.” He further labeled the proposed policy “magical” thinking: “There’s a supposition that if we have this as an ordinance, that somehow ICE is gonna move on. That’s silly.” Dion added, “In my mind, that’s an interesting magical thought. My conclusion is they don’t have any sense of what they’re supposed to do; they just go out and do things impulsively and destructively.”
Councilman Pious Ali, the Democratic author of the motion, pressured Dion on inadequate protections for city staff and immigrants from ICE operations: “If we don’t have a very strong protection for our staff and our community, nobody can predict what they can do.” Dion responded that requiring employees to act under such an ordinance would not deter ICE, stating it would be ineffective “as a pragmatic purpose” beyond political motivations.
Despite Dion’s objections, the council voted 7-1 in favor of the ordinance. All Portland city council members are either Democrats or democratic socialists with no registered Republicans. The city has previously criticized ICE operations, and Councilman Wes Pelletier, leader of the Democratic Socialists of America, described such efforts as a “war of terror” on immigrants. The full meeting video is available on the Portland city website.
