Fueled by open access to ICE coverage, 2.3 million people turned to Maine Trust in January
- Feb 6
- 2 min read
A town-by-town snapshot of everyone detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents after a week of enhanced enforcement in Maine.
A Maine-focused analysis of the people identified in the Department of Homeland Security’s “worst of the worst” list.
Interviews with Mainers who welcome immigration sweeps and on-the-ground coverage of protests against ICE enforcement.
A father detained on his way home from visiting his newborn in the hospital and a mother and her infant left behind on the side of the road after agents shattered their car window and detained her husband.
When “Operation Catch of the Day” – an enhanced and targeted Immigration and Customs Enforcement effort – launched in Maine, the 120-plus journalists on staff at the Maine Trust for Local News covered all angles of the ever-evolving situation that rippled through Portland, Lewiston and surrounding towns. Driven by that in-depth reporting and the decision to provide open access to its essential coverage, the Maine Trust saw more than 2.3 million visitors to its websites in January. That includes more than 750,000 page views of ICE coverage outside the paywall. For context, Maine’s population just crossed over 1.4 million people. These figures are in addition to the 535,000 readers who engaged with Maine Trust content through Apple News+ last month.
Through it all, the staff of the Maine Trust provided important information to the community – a compelling demonstration of the vital need for comprehensive, independent, local journalism in challenging times.
Executive Editor Carolyn Fox said many readers expressed fear and anger about the deployment of federal agents into their communities, while others praised ICE’s presence in the state and supported the effort.
“The best journalists work from the gray area,” said Fox. “They understand that no story, no issue, is as black and white as people want it to be.”
As a nonprofit news organization dedicated to building community through journalism and ensuring access to local news, the Maine Trust for Local News chose to offer free online access to its complete coverage of the ICE operation. The spike in traffic from readers in the local communities and from around the world demonstrated the essential need for information and the trust people placed in our journalists’ exceptional work.
The open access also drove thousands of dollars in donations to the Maine Trust for Local News and drew additional subscribers.
“We’re gratified to serve as an invaluable resource for information, demonstrated by the record traffic to our news websites and the number of people who felt compelled to donate to support our work,” Fox said. “We were pleased to share this enterprising journalism with our community and the entire nation during a moment when access to trusted local reporting matters more than ever.”
