This story will be updated.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement deputy assistant director Patricia Hyde told Fox News Tuesday that the agency has arrested nearly 50 people in Maine as part of an immigration enforcement surge.
Her remarks from offer the first confirmation from the agency that it is intensifying operations in the state.
In a written statement Wednesday, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson confirmed that an immigration enforcement effort dubbed "Operation Catch of the Day" was underway in Maine, but did not provide specific numbers on how many people had been arrested and how many agents are involved.
The numbers cited by Fox would represent a major escalation. For comparison, last year ICE arrested an average of 24 people per month, according to the Deportation Data Project.
Hyde told Fox News her agency has a target list of 1,400 people in Maine. That would represent about 10% of all immigrants without permanent legal status in the state, according to figures from the Migration Policy Institute.
A growing number of videos purporting to show arrests have cropped up in the last two days, mostly in Lewiston and Greater Portland.
Local officials in both cities say they are not receiving communication from ICE or other federal agencies.
"ICE's terror and intimidation tactics reflect a complete lack of humanity and concern for basic human welfare," Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline said in a statement. "These masked men with no regard for the rule of law are causing long term damage to our state and to our country. Lewiston stands for the dignity of all the people who call Maine home. We will never stop caring for our neighbors."
