In a dramatic Maine City Council meeting on Tuesday, an emergency ordinance prohibiting city employees from cooperating with federal ICE on civil immigration enforcement passed 5-2. The measure would bridges a gap until a similar state law takes effect in the summer of 2026.
In a moment that went viral on social media, former Councilor Tim Gallant opposed the ordinance passionately during public comment, arguing it prioritizes a minority while neglecting the majority and risking public safety.
Laying out his case, Former Lewiston City Councilor Tim Gallant explained, “My biggest problem with all this is you’re trying to support 10% of the city by the census in 2025,” asking, “What about the other 90%? What are you doing for them?”
Building this point, he noted, “How many gunshot issues have we had since ICE came to town? How about zero?” Still not done, Gallant added, “Look at the police blotter. Zero. When’s the last time we had three or four months of zero problems? But that doesn’t count. That’s not a crime problem, obviously, to the mayor.”
Still not done, he explained, “You need to think about public safety and how we take care of it. You need to think about how to get ICE back in here because if we didn’t have people who are illegal, they wouldn’t be here. You know, I keep hearing they’re hiding in their houses. If you’re not illegal, why do you hide in your house?”
Taking another tack, liberal Mainer Matt Kershaw argued, “We had to lock the doors in our church because people were afraid to sit through the service.” He alleged, “So, whether or not that’s the intent, that is the effect. And I don’t think there’s anything ridiculous or over-the-top in exerting some reverse federalism here and saying, ‘You know what, until you guys figure this out, we’re not going to go along with this.'”
Watch the clip here:
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Former Lewiston City Councilor Tim Gallant gives an impassioned speech in opposition to the city’s emergency anti-ICE order:
“How many gunshot issues have we had since ICE came to town?
How about zero?
Look at the police blotter. Zero.
When’s the last time we had 3 or 4… pic.twitter.com/EjmQuyp9xe
— The Maine Wire (@TheMaineWire) February 18, 2026
Reacting to the clip on social media, normal conservatives supported the couragous conservative. “Former councilor Gallant nails it ….why prioritize one group when the whole city needs safety? Lewiston rushes anti-ICE ordinance while state law is coming. Priorities off?” one user noted.
Irritated, one user pointed out, “The math is simply not mathing. imagine telling 90% of your city to just ‘deal with it’ while you focus on a tiny ordinance. bro is holding the receipt in his hand and they still won’t look at it. local government is a circus. Fr”
As we reported at the American Tribune, this is far from the only woke city government in Maine. At a Portland Public Schools Board of Education meeting, participants began with an irritating ‘land acknowledgment.’
The activists intoned, “Portland Public Schools recognizes the original inhabitants of the land on which our city and schools stand, the Wiscasset, Maliseet, Micmac, Penobscot, and Passamaquoddy tribes, known collectively as the Wabanaki Confederacy, or people of the dawn.”
Concluding this bizarre clip, one of the many liberal administrators pivoted to tired talking points, stating, “Land equity is achieved in the Portland Public Schools when there are no identifiable differences in outcomes and experiences for any population.”
Featured image from embedded video