Chellie Pingree

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There are more Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at the ICE facility in Scarborough, Rep. Chellie Pingree said in a written statement Monday.

ICE said the increase in agents is a response to the growing number of protesters outside the facility, including some who are armed, according to Pingree.

She called on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to withdraw the additional agents and close the facility.

“Their presence has left people scared to leave their homes, scared to send their kids to school, scared to go to work, and scared to go about their daily lives,” Pingree said in the statement. “The impacts — on families, on our communities, on businesses, on our economy — have been devastating.”

For months, residents from Scarborough and neighboring communities have protested and expressed their anger about ICE activity in town and the presence of Maine’s only ICE processing facility at 40 Manson Libby Road.

Some residents have stood watch outside the facility for hours every day, monitoring and noting the actions of every car and ICE agent.

The Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition said in a statement Monday that the additional ICE personnel at the facility are “focused on building security.”

Salomé Cloteaux is a community reporter covering Scarborough and Westbrook. She was born in France but lived in Indiana for most of her life before moving to Portland in November 2025. Salomé has a degree... More by Salomé Cloteaux

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