For the folks who run the Westbrook Families Feeding Families mobile food pantry, increased activity by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Maine this week means they have to work even harder to keep residents fed.
State Rep. Sue Salisbury, D-Westbrook, and her husband, Joe, a retired corrections officer and school bus driver, operate the nonprofit pantry that regularly serves about 30 Westbrook households. They’re stepping up their efforts to help new Mainers who are afraid to leave their homes for fear they will be arrested by ICE agents.
The Salisburys are taking cash donations this week at their business, The Daily Grind, a downtown coffee kiosk. They’re among many business owners — and some customers — who are reacting to an increased ICE presence in the state.
“We know a lot of people are sheltering in place,” Joe Salisbury said Wednesday. “They’re afraid to go to school. They’re afraid to go to work. A lot of new Mainers aren’t even going out to shop.”
Salisbury said they’re trying to take the politics out of the situation and focus on bringing calm to an increasingly anxious situation. They collected about $3,000 in the first 48 hours, he said.
“We gotta feed these families,” he said. “We gotta feed these kids.”
Kiosk manager Mackenzie Bearor, the Salisburys’ daughter, said several customers had dropped off donations Wednesday and expressed their appreciation for the food pantry’s efforts.
“They know they can rely on us, and people are willing to do so much for others,” Bearor said. “I think it brings a sense of peace and it’s good to let people know we’re here to help.”
Doug Stewart, who ordered an iced coffee Wednesday despite freezing temperatures, praised The Daily Grind for its community support.
“It’s a strong stance that they’re taking,” he said. “They are a great local business.”
ICE IMPACT IN SCARBOROUGH
News of federal immigration agents bringing detained people to vehicles in Cabela’s parking lot Tuesday night left an impression for some customers at The Gateway Shoppes off Payne Road in Scarborough, near Exit 42 of the Maine Turnpike.
The owner of the shopping plaza, Feldco Development Corp. of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, did not respond immediately to questions about why ICE was there or whether federal agents had contacted them.
“It’s extremely troubling,” said Kate Murray of Scarborough. “I have seen ICE agents pulled over on Route 1 with people lined up on the curb. There’s a general anxiety of being on alert and concerned that members of our community may be profiled and targeted and detained. I’m not happy that this is how our tax dollars are being used.”
Murray said the increased ICE enforcement, with a targeted number of detainees, seems “unnecessarily performative” and intended to create a frenzy that divides the public and distracts from other actions by the Trump administration.
Others said they appreciated that ICE agents are ferreting out criminals across the country.
“I think it’s great,” said Lee Thorne of South Portland.
Cabela’s and other tenants at the plaza didn’t respond to requests for interviews or declined to be included in this story, stating that they wanted to remain politically neutral.
DECIDING TO SPEAK OUT
At the Maine Pottery Co. in Edgecomb, owner Brad Hilton posted a TikTok video opposing increased ICE enforcement and breaking from the company’s habit of remaining apolitical.
Hilton said he felt it was time to use his platform as a small business owner to openly criticize President Donald Trump, immigration agents “and anyone else who thinks it’s OK to intimidate and kill fellow Americans.”
“Our towns are reeling as ICE enters our borders up here in Maine,” Hilton said in the video. “I think everyone’s nervous and I just want to let everybody know it’s OK to speak out.”
Hilton said he decided to speak out even if it upsets some customers and urged people who support the president’s actions to reconsider their position.
Many shops and restaurants in Portland, including The Proper Cup and The Highroller Lobster Co., have displayed signs that their business is private property and ICE agents may not enter without a signed judicial warrant.
Portland artist Ryan Adams designed signs that property owners can download for free and post in public.
“Word is that these ‘people’ are in town,” Adams wrote on Instagram. “So I made these downloadable flyers that are able to be printed and posted on the front of your space. There’s a friendly and not-so-friendly option, for however you prefer to communicate.”
RESTAURANTS ARE PREPARED
Portland restaurants continue to educate their staffs on the requirements of immigration law.
Pastry Chef Ilma Lopez, who co-owns the Ugly Duckling and Chaval in Portland’s West End, said she has trained her staff at both restaurants to be kind and respectful, regardless of how they feel about the situation with ICE.
“They are trying to do their job. We are trying to do ours,” she tells her team. “You know, food is not political. We want our guests to be safe. We want the team to be safe. It’s the same responsibility that I have to (the team) that I have to the guests.”
If ICE were to show up, she has told her employees, “please, please, please, call me. You can tell them, ‘I’m so sorry, I’m not allowed to talk to you. Let me just call our manager or let me just call our owner.’ You call me and I’ll take care of it. I don’t want any of the team members to feel obligated to interact with them.”
Lopez, who grew up in Venezuela, came to the U.S. 22 years ago and became a citizen about a decade ago.
“I’m 100% Latina and I’m proud of it,” she said. “I came to the States because in my country, it was really hard to make a living and we didn’t have freedom of speech. In a million years, did it ever even cross my mind that we will be in this situation in America? If somebody had told me, ‘You won’t be able to speak your mind in America,’ (I would have said) no way. You’re going to be worried to work? Never. Never. Never. America’s a melting pot.”
Staff Writer Peggy Grodinsky contributed to this report.
