Carpenters 349 Member, Derek Ellis, Witnesses Harrowing ICE Arrest in Portland

In a viral video Carpenters Local 349 member, Derek Ellis, of Skowhegan describes seeing ICE agents shout at a woman to "get the hell out" of her car as he was grocery shopping in Portland. As they tore her out of her car, she screamed "I'm a US citizen! I'm a citizen!" while her small child in a car seat cried hysterically.

"We live in Maine, right? The idea is that we’re all neighbors and in it together," said Derek. "There is an ever-growing part of our local unions who are immigrants. They make up a lot of the business here, but they’re also union brothers and sisters. We all work side by side with these folks and we’ve come to know them and love them and all of a sudden they’re in fear of coming to work. I mean, that should have an effect on all of us."