The mayor also said he received a phone call from a friend who knows someone who was detained Tuesday by ICE agents in the city. Sheline said he has not heard from ICE or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Maine's Total Coverage obtained this news after Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline reported an increased presence of federal immigration agents in the city.

LEWISTON — Mayor Carl Sheline released a statement Tuesday confirming that the city has seen an increase in immigration enforcement, calling for calm and asking residents to “check in on one another.”

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 offered the first confirmation from the agency that it is intensifying operations in the state.

City officials told Maine's Total Coverage that Mayor Carl Sheline was out on the street checking on the situation Tuesday afternoon.

Despite local police and firefighter unions' support for returning Eryn Soule-Leclair to her seat on the council, councilors instead chose Chrissy Noble after 4 hours of discussion to represent Ward 5.

Immigration enforcement has sent a surge of federal agents to the fishing state, with about 50 arrests so far