Nearly 175 Maine Businesses Close to Protest ICE Despite Collins's All-Clear
Some Portland bars and cafes closed or donated profits to protest ICE, a day after Sen. Susan Collins said the agency had wound down enforcement in Maine.
Nearly 175 businesses agreed to close Jan. 30 as part of a nationwide protest against the expanded U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence in Maine, according to the group Portland Strike Now, WMTW reported.
In Portland's Old Port, the owners of Cuties closed in solidarity with friends and neighbors and planned to give a share of drink profits toward bond and legal help for people ICE has detained. Room for Improvement, a Wharf Street bar, also closed and is holding a weeklong fundraiser for the MaineHealth Food Pantry, a Congress Street pantry that immigrant residents use.
Other owners backed the cause but kept their doors open. Birch Shambaugh of Woodford Food and Beverage said 10% of all sales would go to the Maine Immigrant Rights League, calling ICE "unwelcome in our community." At Novel Book Bar and Cafe, owner Joshua Ames said his staff and business could not afford to lose the income and that he wanted the cafe to stay a safe gathering place.
The day was scheduled to end with a 3 p.m. protest in Monument Square.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said Jan. 29 that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had told her ICE wound down its enhanced enforcement in Maine and that no large-scale operations are underway or planned in the state.
This story was first reported by WMTW.
