Federal immigration authorities requested extensive employment records from the Cumberland County Jail just one day after Sheriff Kevin Joyce publicly criticized U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for arresting one of his corrections officer recruits.
According to information first reported by the Bangor Daily News, ICE issued a subpoena to Cumberland County on January 23 seeking employment data for all individuals who have worked at the county jail since January 2025. Sheriff Joyce confirmed the request in response to media inquiries, stating that the county complied with the subpoena.
The reason behind ICE’s demand for the records has not been officially explained. However, the timing has raised questions, as it followed Joyce’s sharp condemnation of ICE’s actions during a recent immigration enforcement surge in Maine.
Tensions Escalated After Arrest of Corrections Officer Recruit
The controversy began after ICE agents arrested Emanuel Ludovic Mbuangi Landila, an Angolan immigrant employed as a corrections officer recruit at the Cumberland County Jail. Joyce addressed the arrest during a press conference, strongly criticizing ICE’s tactics and defending his employee.
Sheriff Joyce emphasized that Landila had passed multiple background checks, possessed a valid work permit, and met all hiring requirements when he applied in late 2024. Joyce described the recruit as “squeaky clean,” rejecting claims that the jail knowingly employed unauthorized workers.
ICE Ended Detainee Housing Agreement
Shortly after Joyce’s public remarks, ICE began transferring detainees out of the Cumberland County Jail, effectively suspending a long-standing housing agreement between the federal government and the county. An ICE spokesperson later stated that the agency could not continue working with a facility that employed what it described as an “illegal alien.”
County officials dispute that characterization. Landila is one of several immigrants hired by the jail over the past two years to address chronic staffing shortages. Joyce previously stated that approximately 25 immigrant employees currently work at the facility, all of whom passed background checks and obtained required work authorization.
Second ICE Detention of a Maine Corrections Officer
Landila’s detention marks the second case of a Maine corrections officer being detained by ICE during President Donald Trump’s second term. A corrections officer in York County was also detained amid the recent federal enforcement surge.
The subpoena and subsequent actions have intensified scrutiny over ICE’s enforcement practices and its relationship with local law enforcement agencies in Maine, raising broader questions about immigration policy, employment authorization, and federal-local cooperation.