Ari Snider

1 week ago | bangordailynews.com | Ari Snider

Anti-Trump protestors turned out Thursday in several York County towns. In Wells, where about 70 rallygoers gathered alongside Route 1, some spoke out against the local police department becoming the first in the state to sign a cooperation agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. Cheryl Dearman Mills, who’s involved with a local group that supports immigrants, said the agreement could dissuade them from reporting crimes.

2 weeks ago | mainepublic.org | Ari Snider

Independent U.S. Sen. Angus King of Maine has introduced a bipartisan bill aimed at making it easier for international students with STEM degrees to stay in the U.S. after graduating. He said the goal is to bolster the country's science and technology workforce. "I've been saying for years, we should staple green cards to these graduate degrees," he said.

3 weeks ago | mainepublic.org | Ari Snider

The Somerset County Sheriff's Office said this week it uncovered another unlicensed marijuana growing operation in central Maine, at the same location where authorities seized illegal plants last year. On Tuesday, officers found over 1,400 marijuana plants, about 100 pounds of processed cannabis, and a pistol at a property in the town of Harmony, according to a statement posted on social media. Two men from Massachusetts were arrested at the site.

3 weeks ago | mainepublic.org | Ari Snider

The first director of Maine's Office of New Americans has resigned after three months on the job. In a resignation letter, Tarlan Ahmadov said he was stepping down "due to personal health reasons." Governor Janet Mills appointed Ahmadov in December to lead the newly-formed office, which is tasked with helping immigrants integrate into the Maine workforce. But the Armenian Cultural Association of Maine objected to Ahmadov's appointment.

3 weeks ago | nhpr.org | Ari Snider

The Wells police department has a pending application to enter into a formal agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement that would allow it to enforce certain aspects of federal immigration law. The department said it would save time and resources, but one immigration lawyer said ICE is pursuing these agreements in order to expand deportation efforts. ICE has signed similar agreements with several hundred state and local agencies across the country, under a legal provision known as 287(g).