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Posted on 08/22/2025 8:12:11 AM PDT by Steven Scharf
Portland Press Herald
Portland Mayor Says City May Not Be Required To Work With ICE, Despite Federal Grant Terms
Mark Dion says a temporary injunction bars the federal government from making cooperation with immigration officials a condition for funding airport upgrades.
Grace Benninghoff, Staff Writer
PORTLAND — City officials signed a federal grant agreement on Thursday for upgrades at the Portland International Jetport that mandates cooperation with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.
Hours after protesters gathered at City Hall on Thursday to demand answers about the decision, Mayor Mark Dion said during a news conference that the council decided to go ahead with the agreement because the city’s lawyers believe Portland will not be required to work with the immigration agency.
During the news conference, Dion said the grant agreement would be publicly available Friday — two days after the council called an emergency workshop to discuss new terms that tied the airport funding to cooperation with immigration authorities. But the city released a digital version of the grant agreement Thursday night that was signed by city attorney Michael Goldman. City Councilor Wes Pelletier also posted the document online Thursday night.
At the meeting Wednesday night — which was held almost entirely out of public view — Dion said the council “reached a consensus” to move forward with accepting the grant for upgrades at the jetport.
“We did not consent, capitulate or embrace any condition for this money that would allow ICE to be entangled with city affairs. Period,” Dion said to a crowd of media gathered inside council chambers. “Somewhere along the line, this has become an ICE contract — it’s not. This is a grant award for infrastructure improvements at the airport.”
Dion said an item in the agreement stipulates that Maine and other states that have sued the Department of Transportation over its efforts to tie grant funding to immigration enforcement do not have to abide by the directive, so long as a judge’s injunction issued in June holds.
That temporary injunction barred the federal government from making ICE compliance a condition for DOT funding after Secretary Sean Duffy wrote a letter to grant recipients nationwide saying that cooperation was required. The conditions are outlined in Section 40 on Page 15 of the agreement.
When asked what action the city would take if a higher court reverses the injunction, Dion replied: “I can’t answer that with any certainty. Who could?”
The mayor said Thursday that some of the grant money had already been spent on airport improvements prior to the city signing the agreement.
Dion said he was not aware changes had been made to the grant’s conditions until a few days ago and that the council had not met earlier because the city only recently received the contract.
PROTESTERS DEMAND ANSWERS The emergency meeting Wednesday raised concerns that the council was circumventing the public process. Some residents quickly organized a protest outside City Hall Thursday morning to decry the decision and ask questions.
Councilor Kate Sykes stood in the middle of the crowd of about 50 protesters and scrambled to answer questions.
“What about the citizens of Portland?” Lee Nicoloff, 72, called out. “I didn’t hear anything about this. I didn’t have a chance to share my two cents about this in a council meeting. … I was blown away when I got the message this morning.”
“Is there anything we can do?” Alexandra Magnaud, 34, asked from the crowd.
“It’s a done deal,” Sykes replied. The crowd booed.
Some held signs reading “Immigrants are not criminals, ICE is” and “No ICE in Portland,” and lobbed questions at Sykes for roughly 20 minutes.
Sykes, who was the only council member there, said she did not support the decision and noted multiple times that it was not unanimous.
“So can you tell us how everyone voted?” someone in the crowd shouted.
“I can’t,” Sykes replied. “The content of that meeting is protected.”
Prior to Wednesday’s meeting, Dion expressed frustration that the topic of the workshop had been publicly revealed beforehand: “I’m disappointed that someone who has been briefed on the nature of the executive session from our attorneys has decided to provide information to the public at this juncture,” he said.
Wednesday night’s agenda cited 1 M.R.S.§ 405(6)(E), a section of Maine law that allows government bodies to enter executive session to discuss “legal rights and duties,” litigation, settlement offers and other legal issues with an attorney but without the public present.
The council is not allowed to take votes in executive session, however.
Sykes said no formal vote had taken place and told protesters that she plans to put forth a transparency ordinance to change the protocol surrounding private meetings.
“We can never do this again,” she told the crowd. “We have to be transparent in all of the deals we have with the federal government right now.”
Some protesters voiced skepticism that the council had abided by the law.
“It sounds like they took a straw poll in executive session, which is just a vote by another name,” said Joey Brunelle, who helped organize the demonstration.
Rep. Grayson Lookner, a Democrat who represents parts of Portland in the State House, said the lack of transparency from the council was “unconscionable.”
FRUSTRATION WITH ICE The council initially accepted the $21 million grant in January, though Dion said Thursday that the actual amount hinging on ICE cooperation was closer to $18 million. The money was set aside for gate improvement projects, new passenger boarding bridges and terminal improvements.
Sykes urged the protesters Thursday to attend future council meetings and speak during public comment. The council’s next meeting is scheduled for Monday evening.
About a dozen people broke off from the group and marched into the mayor’s office to submit written public comment. The protesters remained peaceful inside City Hall and followed protocol for submitting written public comment.
“We cannot be making secret agreements to cooperate with ICE,” Brunelle said.
Portland residents have previously expressed concerns about local cooperation with the agency. In June, more than 100 people packed a meeting of the Cumberland County commissioners to demand that the county jail stop holding ICE detainees.
“I find what’s going on with ICE to be an absolutely disgrace to our country,” Molly Gibbs, 36, said as she wrote a comment for the mayor. “It’s inhumane and un-American. The council meeting behind closed doors is very shady.”
“These small compromises are how we’ve gotten here,” added Alexandra Magnaud, 34. “I get that we have to play the game, but we’re no longer playing in a legal system that is functioning. We need to stand firm and be very clear that we do not accept this.”
Editor’s note: This story was updated on Aug. 21 to show that the city has signed the agreement and publicly released it.
Staff Writer Drew Johnson contributed to this report.
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The requirement was added to the contract after the council had approved the award in Janaury.
Liberals up in arms with the liberal city council.
Mayor Dion is the most center member of the council and was supported by the more conservative groups in town.
Personally, I am not happy that they held the executive session. This should have all been hashed out in public. There is nothing the corporation council could have told them that would have been secret. The contract had already been approved.
This is the operative provision.
31. Federal Law and Public Policy Requirements. The Sponsor shall ensure that Federal funding is expended in full accordance with the United States Constitution, Federal law, and statutory and public policy requirements: including but not limited to, those protecting free speech, religious liberty, public welfare, the environment, and prohibiting discrimination; and the Sponsor will cooperate with Federal officials in the enforcement of Federal law, including cooperating with and not impeding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other Federal offices and components of the Department of Homeland Security in and the enforcement of Federal immigration law.
The Contract also has these provisions that have noting to do with airport maintenance
21. Ban on Texting While Driving.
22. Trafficking in Persons. 1. Posting of contact information. a. The Sponsor must post the contact information of the national human trafficking hotline (including options to reach out to the hotline such as through phone, text, or TTY) in all public airport restrooms. 2. Provisions applicable to a recipient that is a private entity. a. Under this Grant, the recipient, its employees, subrecipients under this Grant, and subrecipient’s employees must not engage in: Lists several traficking related prohibitions.
One of the contracts are here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1H15uVONLC1k1n4qtl0N6E3UWgmfP27GN/view?pli=1
Grant Jan. 8, 2025 https://www.faa.gov/iija/airport-infrastructure Search Portland, Maine on map to bring up grant specs.
Pull the money, only way to be sure.
The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against InvasionUS Const., Art IV, Sec. 4.
The Constitution is the dispositive issue in this case as the Supreme Law of the Land over the feds and the states, and in this case mandating the feds deal with invaders (AKA illegal aliens).
Mark Dion is a coprophagic weasel.
The term working with is spin. No, they don’t have to work with. But they also cannot work against. The word with is the spin. They are allowed to know nothing or say nothing, but they can’t do all the nothings they seem to think they can do. They can’t purposely do nothing and use that nothing to aid a criminal to escape. And this is where the breakdown in their BS occurs. If I’m asked me where he is and I know he is going out the back door at the time, and I purposely stall the law enforcement with silence, then I am aiding and abetting.
In Black’s Law Dictionary, “aiding and abetting” refers to assisting or encouraging the commission of a crime. This involves an individual having knowledge of the perpetrator’s unlawful intent and acting with the purpose of helping, promoting, or encouraging the offense. The act of aiding and abetting can involve physical help, advice, or moral support, rendering the aider and abettor criminally liable to the same extent as the person who directly committed the crime.
Key elements of aiding and abetting:
Act of aiding or abetting: The accused must perform an act or provide advice that assists, encourages, or instigates the crime.
Knowledge of the perpetrator’s intent: The accused must know the unlawful purpose of the actual perpetrator.
Intent to facilitate the crime: The accused must have the intent to commit, encourage, or facilitate the commission of the offense.
Distinction from direct commission:
An aider and abettor is not necessarily the primary actor but is held liable as a “principal” for their involvement.
Unlike an accessory, their liability arises from actively participating in or encouraging the crime, rather than being involved after the fact.
So they are full of it when they think they can do nothing and not be criminal in intent.
wy69
LOL! Good luck with that, pinko.
Exactly
Looks like they are trying to play games. Best to deny the funding till they understand what is expected of them to receive it.
FA FO comes to mind
FAFO!
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