The Oxford County commissioners will soon consider a request from its Emergency Management Agency to apply for a Homeland Security grant, which now requires participation in immigration enforcement.

The new language was inserted into Version 3 of the 2025 Department of Homeland Security standard terms and conditions, which was rewritten and received a few weeks ago, according to Oxford County EMA Director Allyson Hill.

Hill, who has run the agency for 20 years and has applied for those grants each year, described the new language as “peculiar.”

The section entitled “communication and cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security and immigration officials,” spells out the new requirements and provisions the county must comply with.

In addition to agreeing not to withhold the sharing of information regarding citizenship or immigration status of individuals, the county must agree to participate in joint operations and provide an area for short-term detention “of an alien pursuant to a valid detainer.”

Immigration officers must be provided access to detainees. And local officials are not permitted to “leak or otherwise publicize the existence of an immigration enforcement operation.”

The 2024 application and earlier versions of this year’s application contain no such language.

The Homeland Security grants are used for resiliency projects to help mitigate potential natural disasters.

Last week, those new restrictions prompted Lincoln County Administrator Carrie Kipfer not to apply for the Homeland Security grant.

“I didn’t, with good faith, think that we could apply for these grant funds, knowing that we were going to be required to fall within those terms and conditions,” Kipfer told the Lincoln County commissioners at last week’s meeting.

Oxford County Administrator Zane Loper said Monday he was still studying the issue. He said he expects a lively discussion with commissioners Timothy Turner, Lisa Keim and Sawin Millett when they take up the issue.

Hill is requesting $200,000 for Med Care and the Oxford Water Department, in addition to funding for training and exercises. She has one scheduled in Bethel later this fall. She said she will let the commissioners and Loper make the final determination on whether to apply for the grant.

Hill added that Maine has joined a multi-state lawsuit against the Trump administration seeking to end the link between immigration enforcement to the awarding of federal grants.

The Oxford County commissioners will meet Tuesday at 9 a.m. at the county courthouse.