The local sheriff said he was shocked and disturbed after learning that one of his own recruits had been arrested by federal agents, and he warned that the government’s public claims about immigration enforcement do not match what is actually happening on the streets.
Agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested a Black law enforcement recruit in Maine, even though the man repeatedly told them he was legally allowed to live and work in the United States. The incident happened Wednesday night in a residential neighborhood in Portland and was caught on a cellphone video that quickly spread online.
On Thursday, Kevin Joyce, the sheriff of Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, confirmed that the man detained in the video was a corrections officer recruit who had recently joined the county. In the footage, the man can be heard clearly confused and distressed, repeatedly asking what was wrong and explaining that he was coming home from work. He insisted he had no violations and did not understand why he was being stopped.
A witness named Ben Bozeman, who recorded the arrest, said he was out for a walk when he suddenly saw five vehicles surround the man. He told the Portland Press Herald that ICE agents threatened the recruit with a taser before taking him into custody. Bozeman said the agents then left the man’s car running on the side of the road, with the windows down and his corrections uniform clearly visible in the back seat.
Bozeman described the scene as frightening and aggressive, saying it felt dark, jarring, and intimidating. He said watching the arrest deeply shook him and left him disturbed by what he had witnessed.
Sheriff Joyce echoed those concerns during a press conference. He criticized the agents for leaving the recruit’s car unattended on the street with the lights on and no one inside. He called the behavior unprofessional and irresponsible, saying it was “bush league policing” and not how law enforcement should operate.
Joyce said the incident completely changed how he views the federal government’s immigration actions. He explained that officials often describe enforcement efforts one way, but what happened that night told a very different story. He confirmed that the recruit had passed all background checks, completed the county’s hiring process, and was legally cleared to work in the United States until April 2029.
The sheriff stressed that the man had no criminal record at all. He described him as “squeaky clean” and said there was no reason for him to be treated like a criminal. Joyce said he was told by federal authorities that the man was “illegal,” but strongly pushed back on that claim, saying the recruit was clearly not a criminal and was legally authorized to be in the country. He questioned how someone could be labeled illegal when all their documents were valid and approved.
The incident is not isolated. Law enforcement officers in other parts of the country have reported similar encounters. In Minneapolis, local police have said that officers of color have been stopped, questioned, and even detained by ICE multiple times. These incidents have raised serious concerns among police departments about racial profiling and the treatment of officers who are not white.
ICE leadership has openly stated that nearly everyone is considered a target under its mass deportation approach. As these incidents continue to surface, critics say it is becoming harder to deny that the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown is sweeping up innocent people, including trained law enforcement officers, and disproportionately targeting people of color.
