![Protesters chant outside Agora Event Center. “I think [protest] is critical across the country, for people to see tipping points like the murder of Renee Good and to get out into the streets,” Robert Carr ‘82 said.](https://thebatesstudent.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_2701-1-1200x800.jpg)
Whether they walked, hitched a ride with friends or took the Bobcat Express into downtown Lewiston, numerous Bates students showed up to support Lewiston neighbors at the ICE Them Out Protest on Jan. 24, braving subzero temperatures.
The protest followed increasing reports of ICE presence in Lewiston and several detainments by ICE and other federal agents throughout the state this week.
The Department of Homeland Security dubbed this exercise “Operation Catch of the Day,” drawing ire from some attendees of the protest.
“Calling people ‘the catch of the day’ – this is not a fish market,” Maine Representative Mana Abdi (D-Lewiston) said to loud cheers in agreement.
According to the Facebook event group, the protest encouraged community members to “Join us in bold solidarity as we take to the streets of Lewiston, raise our voices, and demand justice.”
Safiya Khalid, executive director of Community Organizing Alliance (COA), and community member Ty Brimage spearheaded the event held at the Agora Grand Event Center on Bates Street. In addition to COA, nonprofits and advocacy groups including Southern Maine Workers’ Center (SMWC), Generational Noor, Resist Central Maine L/A, Acadia Action, Maine Resists and Sweet Fern MDI helped organize the protest.
Speakers at the protest included Abdi, Khalid, Maine Secretary of State and gubernatorial candidate Shenna Bellows, Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline, Portland Mayor Mark Dion, House District 2 candidates Matt Dunlap and Jordan Wood, U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner, and gubernatorial candidates Hannah Pingree and Troy Jackson.
Due to extreme temperatures, Khalid announced on Thursday that the protest would be relocated from Kennedy Park to the Agora Grand Event Center. The venue quickly filled to capacity and hundreds of protesters overflowed onto Bates Street.
Signs touted by protesters highlighted Maine identities and the Lewiston community, including, “Spring is coming, ICE out,” “In Maine, ICE is for fishing,” “Farmers against facism,” and “Mainers stand with all our neighbors.”
Inside, Abdi spoke, reminding her audience that “these are our families, these are our friends, our teachers, our healthcare workers, the person who every morning on Lisbon Street I get coffee from before I head to Augusta.”
“We fight for our families, we fight for our friends, and we fight for each other,” Abdi added.
Bates students at the protest said that they felt a particular responsibility to show up for their community. Sammy Freeman ‘26, who attended the protest with six other students, said, “It’s safer for us to be here than for the people who have been affected by [ICE].”
“I think that we’ve been through a lot with Lewiston, so we need to support our Lewiston neighbors through all of it,” Sally Thornburg ‘26 added.
Several students noted that Bates can feel like a “bubble,” separated from the community, making their presence at such protests even more important.
“I think on campus we can feel a little isolated…from what’s happening, but in reality, it’s happening so close to us and we’re part of this community,” Abby Salkind-Foraker ‘29 said.
Tim Ruppert ‘27 expressed his frustration with some students’ apathy toward the issue of ICE’s presence and activities in Lewiston. “It makes me a little pissed that people who have so much privilege are just sitting in bed or going to Commons and not actually standing up for vulnerable communities.”
Beyond bursting the “Bates bubble,” students shared their personal connections to this issue. Some shared that having friends who are international students and working with immigrant communities mobilized them into action.
Erik Lindholm ‘27 said that he is a first-generation American. “The breakdown of American democracy is a big issue to me,” he said. “I’m terrified to see this happening, and if this is happening now, what’s gonna be next? We gotta stop this.”
Along with students, faculty and alumni also attended the protest.
“ICE needs to leave, and I want to make sure that people know that I’m one of those people who wants them out,” said Joe Hall, associate professor of history and environmental studies. “[This protest is] about my community, which includes Bates, but it also includes Lewiston and Auburn, and it includes the people who live here.”
Hall expressed the importance of showing support for causes such as this.
“A lot of Trump’s policies, which I think are rooted in aggression, depend on some kind of acquiescence, or at least quiet frustration,” Hall said. “Activities like this are…one really important way for people to show that they’re not willing to settle…that that’s not government, that’s just thuggery.”
“It’s also a way to show support to those of us who sometimes feel pretty upset and alone when we’re sitting in our house reading the news,” he added.
Lewiston residents also spoke about how important the protest was to them. Riley Mayer expressed how harmful ICE presence has been to the community, “It’s devastating to see our communities being torn apart like this, and just this faceless fascist invasion of the people who live here, and work here, and are important members of our community… As a Mainer, it’s really shocking and devastating. I felt like Maine has always been a safe and welcoming place, so I just want to support the people who live here.”
Thomas Kucera, who joined the protest from Nobleboro, said that his father lived through the Nazi occupation of his country. “I grew up hearing about this, hearing about how the government used fear and it’s just horrifying to see it,” he said. “I grew up with immigrants for parents. They didn’t go through this, and I’m really glad they didn’t, but if they were still alive, they’d be horrified.”
Some connected current events in Lewiston to the highly publicized ICE raids in Minnesota. “I think [protest] is critical across the country, for people to see tipping points like the murder of Renee Good and to get out into the streets,” Robert Carr ‘82 said.
“It’s important to exercise our democratic rights, and it’s especially important to be present for the moment,” community member Fred Brodeur said. “I think that you can’t live on fear, you need to live on action, and if you don’t use your rights, you’ll lose them.”
