ICE is at the border of New Brunswick and Maine, premier says

New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt on Wednesday criticized the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in the U.S. that has now spread to neighbouring Maine, saying it’s making people in her province “very, very uncomfortable” to have them at the border.

Holt told reporters in Ottawa that the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at the New Brunswick-Maine border was affecting people with cross-border family and business ties that have already been struggling under strained relations due to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and attacks on Canada.

“We see what’s happening in the country,” she told reporters. “We see it in New Brunswick right now with ICE agents on the border of New Brunswick and Maine, in Calais. And it makes us all very, very uncomfortable.

“There’s nothing that we recognize in our neighbours right now, with the leadership that they have. We’re eager to support them in a return to the long-standing and strong partnership that Canada and the U.S. have had for generations.”

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security last week announced it was expanding its mass deportation operations to Maine in what it dubbed “Operation Catch of the Day,” targeting cities like Portland and Lewiston that are home to large African immigrant communities.

Residents on both sides of the New Brunswick-Maine border have begun reporting the presence of ICE agents in Calais, Maine, an economic hub that shares multiple border crossings with St. Stephen, N.B.

Some social media posts have reported ICE agents “harassing” people crossing from Canada into the city, though Global News has not independently verified those accounts.

The presence of ICE has drawn extra scrutiny in the wake of operations in Minneapolis, which have seen two U.S. citizens shot dead by federal agents and mass protests from residents. Many of the protests have seen a violent response, with ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents detaining demonstrators and throwing tear gas at crowds, while threatening bystanders with arrest.

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Holt was speaking Wednesday alongside Ontario Premier Doug Ford ahead of a first ministers meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Ford this week has tried to distance himself from an Ontario-headquartered company selling military vehicles to ICE, after calling the $10-million contract “fantastic” news last month.

“I don’t direct companies to sell military vehicles down south or around the world,” Ford said Tuesday at an unrelated event.

Have you had a recent encounter with ICE while crossing from Canada into the U.S.? We want to hear from you. Use the contact form below to share your experience and we may be in touch for future articles.

—with files from Global’s Isaac Callan