They came for Lucas on I-95. A routine traffic stop for an off-center license plate—at least that’s how it started. By the time Laura Anderson heard her fiancé’s voice again, he was behind bars, transferred three times, taunted by jail staff, and marked for deportation.
“He’s not a criminal. He came here legally. He has a green card application pending. They took him anyway.”
That’s what Anderson told the crowd gathered in Portland, where she held a microphone with both hands and scanned the street for someone—anyone—who could still explain how this country works.
Maine wasn’t on the radar. That was the myth. Too cold, too white, too far north. But as of May 2025, the state has become a staging ground: construction workers pulled from job sites, restaurant owners disappeared, pregnant wives filing paperwork in three languages to find out where their husbands have been taken.
“They arrested him not having a driver’s license, but currently they are judging him for being an immigrant.” — Ana Luiz, whose husband Marcos was detained and transferred across county jails
Luiz is seven months pregnant. She hasn’t heard his voice in a week.
It’s not just the detentions—it’s the confusion by design. When Lucas Segobia’s supporters called York County Jail, staff denied he was there. Then they denied him again at Two Bridges. Only after advocates cited his booking number did someone admit he’d been “processed.”
Inside, he was mocked. “You’re awfully popular,” guards told him, after realizing people were calling.
Outside, those same people rallied. Welders. Teachers. Organizers. Mothers. Jo Remillard, who runs People’s Inclusive Welding in South Portland, stepped to the mic and didn’t flinch.
“Nobody on stolen land is illegal.”