LePage says ICE should target 'criminals first.' That hasn't been happening in Maine, data shows.
LePage said ICE should prioritize gang members and people with criminal records.
SOURCE CHECK
TAP FOR WHYThe Portland Press Herald is an established regional news outlet, and this article identifies its reporter and attributes its key data to named organizations and public records. The reporting also provides direct quotations and relevant legal context.
- Source type — Established local newspaper with a regional reporting operation.
- Author attribution — A named reporter is credited.
- Transparency — The article identifies the source and analysis of the arrest data and attributes quotations.
- Editorial standards — The publisher appears to have an established newsroom; no article-specific correction information is provided.
The article combines direct statements from LePage with arrest figures attributed to public records and named organizations, and explains an important distinction in immigration law. It supplies meaningful local context, though it does not include a response from ICE or the Department of Homeland Security.
HOW WE SCORE ↗The story gives LePage’s views and direct quotations, then compares them with arrest data and explains the relevant legal distinction. It does not include a response from ICE or DHS, leaving the agency’s perspective absent.
- Source diversity — Includes the candidate’s comments, public records, and analysis by named organizations.
- Counterarguments presented — LePage’s stated preference for targeting criminals first is presented, but no agency response is included.
- Omitted context — The article does not explain ICE’s response to the data or its enforcement priorities in Maine.
The article presents LePage’s remarks alongside arrest data and legal context in largely descriptive language. Its framing emphasizes the contrast between his stated priorities and ICE’s arrest patterns, but does not clearly adopt a partisan position.
- Language tone — Mostly factual language, with LePage’s remarks quoted directly.
- Source selection — Uses LePage’s comments, public-record-based data, and legal context; no agency response is included.
- Framing — Centers the contrast between LePage’s stated priorities and Maine arrest data.
Republican House candidate Paul LePage said ICE should prioritize gang members and people with criminal records, while Maine arrest data shows most people ICE arrested this year had no criminal conviction or charge. His comments come amid scrutiny of the agency’s enforcement practices in Maine.
LePage, the Republican candidate for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, said ICE should start with gang members and criminals rather than people who have lived in the country for decades. He also said that an undocumented person has broken the law, criticized Maine’s limits on local cooperation with immigration officers, and described a relative by marriage who faces deportation despite holding a work permit as an example of an unfair outcome.
Public records obtained by the Deportation Data Project and analyzed by the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition showed that about 69% of people ICE arrested in Maine during the first seven months of 2026 had no criminal conviction or charge; 12% had been convicted of a crime. The article also explains that being in the country without authorization is not necessarily a crime, and notes that people seeking asylum were among those arrested during January’s Operation Catch of the Day.
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Part of a bigger story
14 OUTLETSMaine congressional candidate Paul LePage said a relative with work authorization is facing deportation and that he believes immigration enforcement should prioritize people with criminal records or gang ties. Left-leaning outlets frame his objection as a contradiction with his support for ICE enforcement. Center outlets report both his objection and his enforcement views, with some adding arrest data, a DHS response or campaign criticism.
- ARTICLES
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- OUTLETS
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- AVG CRED
- 61
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