‘That’s not right’: Paul LePage has long taken a hard line on immigration as Maine governor. Now he says his own relative is facing deportation

Paul LePage said this week that a relative on his son’s side of the family is facing deportation. The former Maine governor, a Republican and longtime ally of President Donald Trump, is now running for Congress and argued the government is targeting the man by mistake, according to Mediaite. 

During a presser this week, LePage said, “My son’s wife’s dad is here legally.” He then said, “But he’s being deported because he came from a country that’s not liked by certain people in Washington. That’s not right.”

LePage said the man has authorization to work in the United States and “should be allowed to stay.” He did not name the country of origin and did not give other details about the case. 

LePage raises the case while answering questions on Maine immigration enforcement

LePage mentioned the relative after a question about immigration enforcement in Maine. ICE has increased operations in the state as part of the Trump administration’s wider deportation effort, the report said. The tension between anti-immigration rhetoric and personal ties has surfaced elsewhere, like when Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts backed Trump’s immigration crackdown while his family farms reportedly hired undocumented workers.

People who are in the country illegally have “broken the law,” LePage maintained. He argued that immigration authorities should put their focus somewhere else.

Enforcement should prioritize “people in the gangs and criminals,” he said, adding that “not everybody that’s here is illegal.” He also argued that the country’s immigration laws “need to be fixed.”

LePage is seeking the House seat left open by retiring Rep. Jared Golden. His opponent is Democratic state auditor Matt Dunlap.

“Paul LePage is no friend to immigrants or their families,” Dunlap told the Times. “He spent eight years demonizing them as governor, and he welcomed ICE’s overreach into Maine.”

LePage served two terms as Maine governor. He has long taken a hard line on immigration. According to a recent New York Times report, he disparaged asylum seekers while in office and pursued policies that limited refugee resettlement and state benefits for many immigrants.

On the campaign trail, LePage has tried to separate legal immigration from illegal immigration. That line sits at the center of a campaign ad he released this week.

“Immigration built our nation,” LePage says in the ad, which also notes that French was his first language. He then pointed to his record as governor, saying he “ended Maine as an illegal immigration sanctuary state, cut off welfare to illegal immigrants, and made sure taxpayer dollars went to Mainers.”