American Civil Liberties Union of Maine
121 Middle Street, Suite 200
Portland, Maine 04101
April 10, 2017
The Honorable Jefferson B. Sessions
The Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
The Honorable John F. Kelly
Secretary of Homeland Security
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
3801 Nebraska Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20528
Re: Immigration and Customs Enforcement Arrests at Maine Courthouses
Dear Mr. Attorney General and Mr. Secretary Kelly:
We were deeply disturbed to learn of the seizure by Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) agents of a person at Cumberland County Superior
Court in Portland, Maine on April 6, 2017. We write to add our names to the
growing chorus of attorneys from across the country and across the political
spectrum speaking out against the practice of ICE arrests at courthouses.
ICE arrests at courthouses undermine the fundamental constitutional
guarantee that all people have the right to seek redress from our court system—
including people accused of crimes, witnesses to crimes, and victims of crimes. No
one should be afraid to seek justice because of his or her immigration status.
The Department of Homeland Security currently regards places of worship
(such as churches, synagogues, mosques, and temples) as well as religious

 Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Arrests at Maine Courthouses--2

ceremonies (such as funerals and weddings) as “sensitive locations” where ICE
enforcement actions should be avoided. Courthouses are sacred to our democracy,
and they should also be included on the Department’s list of sensitive locations.
We urge you to end this practice immediately, and to communicate this
directive to your staff throughout the country and to the public.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Sincerely,
Eben Albert
Nancy Anderson
Michael Asen
John C. Bannon
Henry Beck
Alison Beyea
Lee K. Bragg
Juliet T. Browne
Michael E. Carey
Catherine R. Connors
Carrie Cote
Roberta L. de Araujo
Jared S. des Rosiers
Elaine Driscoll
Andrew S. Edwards
Angus Ferguson
Carol J. Garvan
Kyle Glover
Rachel E. Green
Suzanne Grosh
Daphne Hallett Donahue
Danna Hayes
Merritt T. Heminway
Melissa A. Hewey
Marcus B. Jaynes
Charles J. Kahill
Dennis C. Keeler
Amy D. Kuhn

Ryan C. Almy
Jennifer A. Archer
Emily G. Atkins
Joseph Barbieri
Rachael Becker McEntee
Timothy H. Boulette
Christopher B. Branson
E. James Burke
Teresa M. Cloutier
Emily L. Cooke
Stephanie Cotsirilos
Kevan Lee Deckelmann
Amy Dieterich
Paul F. Driscoll
Meredith C. Eilers
Joan Fortin
John W. Geismar
Abigail Greene Goldman
Rebecca West Greenfield
James B. Haddow
Wendy Harlan
Zachary L. Heiden
Michael C. Hernandez
Toby Hollander
Lee Johnson
David M. Kallin
Daniel Keenan
Matthew J. LaMourie

Oamshri Amarasingham
Cynthia C. Arn
Amber R. Attalla
Connor Beatty
Seth Berner
Lauri Boxer-Macomber
Max I. Brooks
Barbara A. Cardone
Sarah E. Coburn
Mary E. Costigan
Robert P. Cummins
Anthony R. Derosby
Benjamin Donahue
Susan B. Driscoll
Brian Eng
Maria Fox
Philip Gleason
Betts J. Gorsky
Gordon F. Grimes
Thomas Hallett
William S. Harwood
Sara S. Hellstedt
Peter F. Herzog
Martha Howell
Katherine A. Joyce
Stacey Mondschein Katz
Ronald Kreisman
Peter J. Landis

 Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Arrests at Maine Courthouses--3

Nelson J. Larkins
T. Griffin Leschefske
Ariel Linet
David A. Lourie
Anne Macri
Andrea Mancuso
Robyn G. March
Kelly W. McDonald
Powers McGuire
Robyn Merrill
Stephen W. Moriarty
Peter S. Murray
Christopher Northrop
Wendy Paradis
John Paterson
Russell B. Pierce
Patrice Putman
Nolan L. Reichl
Susan Roche
Michael C. Ryan
Ronald W. Schneider, Jr.
Leonard Sharon
Theodore Small
Michael S. Smith
Stacy O. Stitham
Louise K. Thomas
Vendean Vafiades
Matthew S. Warner
Michael J. Welch
Lucinda E. White
Judith Fletcher Woodbury
Jeffrey N. Young

Ken Lehman
Michael J. Levey
Paul Linet
Suzanne Breselor Lowell
Jana K. Magnuson
Peter G. Mancuso
Christopher Marot
Linda McGill
Alysia Melnick
M. Kathleen Minervino
Joseph D. Moser
Tina Heather Nadeau
Phil Notis
Cheryl Parker
Patricia A. Peard
Peter S. Plumb
Vivek J. Rao
Kimberly Richardson
Daniel J. Rose
Mary Schendel
Tina Schneider
Leslie Silverstein
Beth A. Smith
David Soley
Meagan Sway
Michael D. Traister
Virginia G. Villa
Robin Watts
David Weyrens
Valerie Z. Wicks
Jack Woodcock
Timothy Zerillo

Margaret Coughlin LePage
Molly Putnam Liddell
Elizabeth Little
Arnold Macdonald
Elizabeth Mahoney
Charles W. March
Jeana M. McCormick
Kai McGintee
Jonathan G. Mermin
Matthew D. Morgan
Sara Murphy
Stacey D. Neumann
Richard L. O'Meara
Liam J. Paskvan
Logan E. Perkins
Jeremy Pratt
Stephen M. Rappaport
Luke S. Rioux
Robert J. Ruffner
Andrew Schmidt
Sigmund D. Schutz
Ellen Simmons
Deirdre M. Smith
Annie E. Stevens
Chistopher C. Taintor
Sharon Anglin Treat
Sally Wagley
Anna R. Welch
Michael Whipple
Lauren Willie
Andrew Wright