Local officials in Bangor, Lewiston, and Portland were reluctant to say whether they would comply with deportations promised by President Donald Trump, even with the threat of prosecution for officials impeding deportation efforts.

Acting Attorney General (AG) James McHenry issued a Department of Justice (DOJ)-wide memo on Tuesday, instructing the department to investigate and potentially prosecute any state and local officials who work against President Trump’s deportation efforts.

“The Supremacy clause and other authorities require state and local actors to comply with the Executive Branch’s immigration enforcement initiatives. Federal law prohibits state and local actors from resisting, obstructing, or otherwise failing to comply with lawful immigration related commands and requests,” says the memo.

Under that directive, Maine’s local and municipal authorities could face federal charges if they refuse to comply with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), by, for example, actively sheltering illegal immigrants from authorities or refusing to provide information that could lead to deportations.

Maine’s cities, under liberal municipal governments, the state legislature, and Gov. Janet Mills (D-Maine), have become hubs for legal immigrants, illegal aliens, and asylum seekers — i.e. noncitizens on parole while immigration claims are adjudicated.

The influx has placed massive burdens on the state’s welfare system amid an impending budget deficit, with even progressive jurisdictions admitting that welfare spending on noncitizens has stretched budgets to the breaking point.

Following the DOJ memo, the Maine Wire reached out to a total of 34 municipal officials from Bangor, Portland, and Lewiston, asking whether, in light of a potential criminal investigation and prosecution, they intend to cooperate with ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations should circumstances call for it.

Out of 34 officials, only one responded to the initial request for comment.

Lewiston City Councilor Scott Harriman provided a statement, claiming that he cannot decide whether he will resist the immigration enforcement and potentially open himself up to federal prosecution until he sees the specifics of any deportation plans.

“I am concerned that our sizable population of immigrants, asylum seekers, and first- and second-generation Americans in Lewiston will be targeted by the Trump Administration. They are an integral part of our community and they would be sorely missed if they were suddenly taken from us,” he said.

He also claimed that the loss of the city’s immigrant population could harm its economy due to the rising costs of city services.

He did not mention the economic strain put on the city by illegal immigrants receiving taxpayer-funded welfare benefits.

“Losing their contributions to the labor market and the property and excise taxes they pay to the City would also make things even harder for all working-class Lewistonians, especially as we struggle with increasing costs for City services and multiple job vacancies in critical City departments,” he added.

The Maine Wire reached out a second time, contacting the officials again, asking if they plan to resist Trump’s deportation plan and whether they will encourage school districts to comply.

The request for comment yielded one additional response from Bangor City Council Chair Cara Pelletier, who claimed that it would be “premature” to issue a statement since she is unaware of any immigration enforcement activity in Bangor.

“I am not aware of any immigration enforcement actions in Bangor at this time. To provide a statement about a potential council response to a hypothetical action seems premature. Any response would be by majority vote of the council, and the council has not taken a position to date,” said Pelletier.

Meanwhile, Rockland’s police chief addressed a city council meeting in the Knox County seat on Monday and fielded questions from citizens concerned about the involvement of federal Customs and Border Patrol agents in last week’s human trafficking bust at a massage parlor there. Police Chief Tim Carroll told the assembled public at the meeting that local police are not involved in immigration enforcement.