Mount Desert becomes Maine's first sanctuary community
Voters in the town of Mount Desert declared the town a sanctuary community at its recent town meeting.
The Bangor Daily News reported that other towns, including Bar Harbor and Brunswick, are considering similar measures.
Mount Desert’s declaration is a nonbinding statement of values, the BDN reported.
David Feldman, one of the organizers of the effort, told the BDN that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials regularly visit Mount Desert and Bar Harbor, in part because cruise ships frequent Bar Harbor, and in part because Mount Desert Island typically attracts a large group of summer employees on H-2B visas.
In Brunswick, a declaration, as proposed by Greater Brunswick Peaceworks, would welcome immigrants and refugees as “valued members of the community,” declare that it believes the federal government has no legal authority to require local enforcement of immigration laws, and declare that municipal staff should not ask about a resident’s immigration status when providing services, the BDN reported.
Brunswick Town Councilor Sarah Brayman told the BDN she asked Brunswick Town Manager John Eldridge to research potential repercussions, including risks to federal funding, if the town were to declare itself a sanctuary community.
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