Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) asked the Department of Homeland Security to cease its immigration enforcement surge in Maine and Minnesota in the wake of two fatal shootings by immigration enforcement personnel this month.
Collins, the chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, made the appeal directly to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during a conversation earlier this week.
“I asked her to pause the operations in both Maine and Minnesota so that they could be reviewed and far more targeted in their scope,” Collins told Maine Public Radio.
Collins said she has received numerous calls from constituents who are afraid and angry at the widespread deportation operations being undertaken by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The senator called the actions “too sweeping and indiscriminate,” per the local outlet.
Collins said she disagreed with Noem’s characterization of Alex Pretti as engaging in “domestic terrorism.” Pretti was fatally shot by a Border Patrol agent on Saturday after recording and attempting to intervene in an immigration enforcement matter. His death came a few weeks after the fatal shooting of another U.S. citizen by an ICE officer in Minnesota.
Collins said there were concerns that ICE recruits were not getting enough training, especially as the DHS has surged the number of agents deployed in states including Minnesota and Maine in recent weeks.
“I believe in a rush to get them out to the field that their training has not been as thorough and extensive as it should be,” she said.
Despite asking for a pause, Collins is still standing by her stance to fund the DHS in a six-bill appropriations package up for consideration this week in the Senate. Many Senate Democrats, including centrists who voted to reopen the government in November 2025, have come out against the DHS funding bill.
Republicans do not have enough members to meet the 60-vote filibuster threshold, requiring Democratic votes to advance the legislation. Pushback from Democrats could result in a partial shutdown, given that six of the 12 funding bills have been signed into law.
Collins and other Republicans have noted that the DHS funding bill does more than just provide finances for ICE — it also funds the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Coast Guard, Transportation Security Administration, and others.
DEMOCRATS’ ICE FUNDING HALT COULD LEAVE FEMA STRANDED AFTER MONSTER SNOWSTORM
During appropriations negotiations, Democrats were able to secure a $115 million funding reduction for ICE operations in the DHS funding bill. The bill also includes accountability measures such as body camera requirements and de-escalation training for agents and officers.
But Democrats are now insisting lawmakers need to go back to the drawing board and renegotiate funding for ICE, with a handful of progressives calling to abolish the agency. However, it is unlikely appropriators can create a new DHS product by the funding deadline of 11:59 p.m. on Friday, putting Congress on track toward a continuing resolution or a shutdown this week.