Many immigrants are afraid to leave their homes — let alone go to work — as masked ICE agents escalate their operations in Maine. But at apparel manufacturer American Roots in Westbrook, staff and community volunteers are trying to protect immigrant workers by standing watch as they arrive and leave for the day.
The company employs more than 80 people and more than half are immigrants, all here legally. But there are fears ICE agents could still target them, which is why the volunteers have come.
"We are forming a barrier," said Rabbi Rachel Simmons. She's one of several leaders from different religious faiths who have joined the effort. "We are standing between the workers who are being targeted and those who want to do them harm."
The group of more than two dozen volunteers stretches out in a line along the road, where ICE agents have been seen driving by on previous days. It's a wall of down jackets, yarmulkes, and brightly colored clergy stoles that blocks the view of the door behind them. They begin to sing as they wait for workers to exit.
The executive director of the Maine Council of Churches, Reverend Jane Field, said when ICE scaled up its operations last week, American Roots asked if a few faith leaders could come each day to help provide comfort.
"I'm like, 'Oh no, you don't understand," Field said. "We have a God squad we can call, you know, like, I'll just put the bat thing up in the sky.' And lo and behold, like 20 clergy were there that afternoon."
Members of the community have also joined the effort, even when biting wind adds an extra chill to an already frigid day.
"It’s cold!" said Julia, who works at a business nearby. She doesn't want to share her last name because she doesn't want to be targeted by ICE.
"I think this is one of those things where I really wish this wasn’t happening, but it's nice to see so many people are willing to come out here and freeze our butts off to show people we’ve got their backs," she said.
With the work at American Roots about to end and the human wall in place, it's time for the workers to leave. Company staff who are coordinating their exit are stationed both in and outside the facility, communicating through walkie talkies as they send out workers in small groups.
"We’ve got two coming down," a staff member said.
As the workers walk out the door, the co-founder and CEO of American Roots, Ben Waxman, quickly ushers them into their cars.
"Be safe! Be safe, ok?"' he tells them.
Waxman said he supports law and order, but that's not what's happening. He said the immigrants he employs — asylum seekers, refugees, and citizens — are all vetted and working legally in the U.S., and they're living in fear.
"We're spending tens of thousands of dollars to adapt to a situation that at its core is being told we're going after criminals," Waxman said. "There are no criminals in my company."
American Roots now has an attorney on site twice a day to ensure that the rights of both the business and its employees are maintained. Waxman said the leadership team's time is consumed with devising plans to keep workers safe. But on any given day, some workers are deciding not to come in, and when production goes down, Waxman said, that not only affects his business, it also affects the vendors who supply American Roots' materials, which are all made in the U.S.
"The answer is, wake up, Republicans and Democrats. I'm not getting political here, because this is not a political issue," he said. "This is a moral issue and a business issue. And from a business standpoint, it's economically catastrophic, and from a moral standpoint, it is beyond immoral the way that we're conducting treating people who are contributing to our communities."
Back outside, Waxman escorts more workers into their cars.
"You go! You go!" he said.
The wall of volunteers continue their singing. Reverend Field said the hardest part is watching the workers drive away.
"Out into the dark," she said. "And you just don't know, how will they be safe? Will they get home? I mean, it's hard to believe that this is our country, that that you have to say that, that people driving home from their jobs live in that much terror."
