This past year, more than ever before, I feel the word “unprecedented” has lost much of its weight. Not because it is being employed in error, but rather because nearly every day brings a new unprecedented federal experiment testing our rule of law and the strength of our democratic institutions.

It’s hard to know where to look in such a political climate. In fact, it can be hard to look at all. We are prone to shutting down when inundated with a constant stream of shocking headlines — which, in many cases, seems to be precisely the point of the Trump Administration’s actions.

Federal immigration enforcement has been both a major contributor to, and beneficiary of, this noise, stoking fear and division in communities like ours across the country. When it should be safeguarding civil rights and protecting access to justice, the federal government has actively threatened public safety and due process. In its quest to meet quotas, ICE has cast a wide net reaching far beyond those accused of wrongdoing, targeting lawfully present asylees, refugees, naturalized citizens and U.S. born residents without regard for their legal rights.

At a moment defined by fear, however, our community did not shut down. It filled me with hope to see neighbors support neighbors by organizing grocery deliveries, safe rides, school drop-off patrol groups and other resources for those more vulnerable to profiling by ICE.

Just as local communities stood up in the face of federal threats to Mainers’ rights and safety, so too must the State. We began this year in the Legislature with a major step forward as LD 1971 was passed into law, focusing resources on promoting public safety by limiting the context in which local law enforcement can support and interact with federal law enforcement. Though the law will not officially take effect until this summer, Maine State Police have been following it since early January.

The legislature is actively considering several other bills poised to protect rights and safety in the face of a sweeping federal commitment to mass detainment and deportation. Rep. Ellie Sato of Gorham’s LD 2106, for example, would require federal law enforcement to obtain a judicial warrant signed by a judge before accessing a sensitive location or confidential record. The bill would strengthen constitutional protections against unlawful search and seizure in key community spaces like schools, hospitals and libraries — protections the Trump Administration rescinded early last year.

Also on the docket is LD 2176, which aims to improve timely access to legal representation in immigration detention proceedings. Without representation, Mainers who are profiled and detained under aggressive immigration enforcement sweeps have limited ability to assert their rights and challenge the lawfulness of their detainment. The bill would make clear that a person deprived of rights under the Maine Civil Rights Act in the course of an unlawful immigration detention can seek remedies, including compensatory damages and attorney fees.

I look forward to working with my colleagues to advance these urgently needed protections for public safety and due process — because our communities are better off for the rich contributions of all who call Maine home.