A York County corrections officer who was detained by immigration agents during a surge in enforcement activity in Maine has been released.
Police say the officer was detained in late January when he reported to an immigration appointment in Scarborough, although York County Sheriff William King says he appeared to have legal status.
“The individual had passed all our requirements,” said Sheriff King. “We did all the requisite checks. There was no reason to think that he was not able to work in the United States, and so we hired him.”
The corrections officer was taken to the Plymouth County Correctional Facility in Massachusetts before being released several days ago.
King says he’s waiting to hear back from ICE about the officer’s legal status before rehiring him.
“We haven’t rehired him, although he’s eligible to be hired, because we want confirmation that his immigration status, that his work authorization has been renewed,” King said.
A Cumberland County corrections officer was also arrested during the late January buildup of immigration enforcement in Maine, which federal agents labeled “Operation Catch of the Day.”
Immigration enforcement said they’d made 206 arrests during the surge in activity, but has not released information about more than roughly a dozen of the people detained. Federal agents said they were targeting 1,400 criminal illegal immigrants for arrest when they initiated the surge.
Sheriff King said family members had asked that the name of the York County corrections officer arrested by immigration enforcement not be released.