Speaking to a packed room Thursday night at the Maine Immigration Forum, Portland Hearts of Pine captain Mikey Lopez recalled playing in a Texas youth soccer tournament in which his team was made up of Hispanics while the opponents were all white.
“I can remember … my best friends, brother, and I hopping out of our red 15-passenger van, a bunch of shorter Mexican kids walking in with gallon jugs of water, our gear and plastic grocery bags, and not already dressed in our game uniforms,” Lopez said. “But the opposing teams were the complete opposite. Each kid had a proper soccer bag, their own water bottle, and separate warm-up tops.”
At some point during the game, the parents of the opposing team began chanting, “USA! USA! USA!” in support of their own kids, who – as Lopez explained – happened to be playing against a team also made up of Americans. They were just brown, he said.
It was one of several racist experiences that Lopez, 33, dealt with growing up playing soccer. But then Lopez discussed how the game also surrounded him with players from countries spanning the globe. His first roommate in boarding school was Korean.
“I learned quickly that we were much more similar than we were different,” Lopez said. “Yes, we ate different foods for snacks, looked and talked differently, but we still enjoyed a lot of the same things. We also had to lean on each other because, well, we were all each other had while we lived away from our families.”
Lopez was the keynote speaker at the Maine Immigration Forum held at Halo on Thompson Point. Several hundred people attended the forum. The theme was “Persevering in Adversity, Growing the Mutual Aid Movement in Maine.” Attendees came to hear music, enjoy a variety of ethnic food, and listen to speakers, including four teens from The Telling Room who delivered tales that brought out tears and a few happy laughs.
The fact that Lopez gave his keynote address on such a controversial subject might be news enough but it comes on the heels of his employer’s multiple stances against the federal government’s ongoing immigration enforcement actions. Twice this year, the Portland Hearts of Pine have objected to immigration enforcement, including condemning the midsummer killing of an asylum applicant with an active work permit.
Lopez’s speech comes at a time when the nation remains deeply polarized on a number of issues, although sentiment regarding immigration enforcement began turning following federal officers shooting at least 14 people from September 2025 to February 2026. At least another eight people have been shot since then, including the asylum applicant with an active work permit, Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a 25-year-old Colombian national, who was killed on July 13 by an ICE agent in Biddeford.
Guerrero, who had a pending asylum case, a valid U.S. work permit, and a Social Security number, was a bystander during the operation and was not a person of interest being sought by the officers. He, his wife, and their daughter had tried to leave the area but were stopped by ICE agents. Shortly after, he was shot and killed. The officers were not wearing body cameras.
The shooting sparked anger immediately in the area, leading to protests from residents and Maine Democrats, who condemned the escalation of federal immigration enforcement under the Trump administration’s ongoing crackdown.
The Department of Homeland Security has said agents were conducting surveillance on someone with a final order of removal and that the vehicle Guerrero was driving fled when agents tried to stop it, leading an officer to fire out of fear for public safety.
Operations have continued across the state but they’ve been conducted more quietly. In response to the ongoing operations, the state legislature passed a law strictly limiting local police from assisting the ICE agents.
Across the country, public sentiment has begun turning against ICE operations; a poll conducted in August found eight of ten independents now believe ICE uses too much force, a sharp reversal from a year earlier. Across party lines though, Republicans and Democrats have moved less. A Fox News poll found ICE’s overall “too aggressive” rating rose 10 points to 59% since July 2025, an increase driven mainly by independents and moderates, with only a modest uptick among Trump voters.
While independents may be questioning the federal government’s immigration enforcement efforts, it has still been surprising to see Portland’s professional men’s soccer team speak out against it. Historically, pro franchises in the U.S. just don’t do controversial political issues.
As explained by Kara Peruccio, an assistant professor of Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies and History at the University of Maine, during a conversation with the Portland Press Herald about why pro franchises almost never speak up, “The simple and complicated answer is capitalism.”
Most pro teams rely heavily on corporate partnerships, stadium naming rights, and luxury box sales. Meanwhile, corporations prefer overly positive environments to promote their brands. Taking political stances risks triggering sponsor boycotts.
None of the other three minor league teams in Portland have addressed the issue.
For Lopez, the choice was simple. Both parents came to the U.S. as children. Lopez, who received the club’s first-ever Lead With Your Heart Community Award in 2025 for his involvement in the area, grew up 20 minutes from the border.
On his team, Lopez is known for his leadership, something he has demonstrated on and off the pitch. He has been the Hearts’ captain in both of their years of existence. He played an integral role in Portland’s surprising run to the playoffs last year in the club’s inaugural season. This season, Lopez has played less but he did score his first goal for the club.
In an interview Thursday afternoon, Gabe Hoffman-Johnson, the founder and chief community officer, and one of the principal co-owners of the Hearts of Pine, said the club supported Lopez speaking at the Immigration Forum.
“We are very proud of him,” Hoffman-Johnson said. “Anytime you can use your voice, you should. When I first saw that he was doing it, it put a big smile on my face.”
There were a lot of Mainers who felt the same way back in July when the Hearts released a lengthy statement from Hoffman-Johnson in which he stated that the club’s heart ached for “Guerrero’s family who lost a son, a brother, a husband, and a father; for Maine’s immigrant community being targeted by ICE; and for the people of Biddeford grieving the loss of a neighbor.”
The statement went on to say, “We stand with our neighbors in demanding ICE be held accountable for their actions. Every Mainer deserves the right to safety and security in their own community.”
Asked Thursday about the news release, Hoffman-Johnson said he just felt compelled to speak out because he believes the club has a role “in building a better Maine.” Members of the Hearts’ organization have been connecting with the community since before the club had played a single game, he added, citing work in hosting soccer tourneys at Kennedy Park and the efforts with the Greater Portland Welcome Center and Soccer Saturdays.
“When things like that happen so close to home, it’s hard not to have a reaction,” Hoffman-Johnson said. “You have to be measured in terms of what you say, but I think standing with neighbors and community, that means so much to us.”
At the same time, Hoffman-Johnson acknowledged that there is a razor-thin line when it comes to speaking about politically-charged issues.
“We certainly don’t want to become ‘Statement FC’ and have that be a distraction,” Hoffman-Johnson said. “I think there’s so much of what this club contributes that is an escape from the chaos and polarization in this world that we live in, and to have a place to exhale and breathe and be focused on joy and good and all of that, is really our North Star.
“But from time to time, to use our voice, I just think is appropriate, and that was one of those times.”
Lopez told the forum’s audience that he sees the strength of Maine’s community while he praised “bravery in the face of hate, the grit to keep showing up for one another no matter what.” He explained that he carries those values onto the pitch every time he plays.
“I strive to represent the heart and work ethic of this great city,” Lopez said. “So thank you all for embracing us, for continuing to show me that we are stronger as a collective, because we all have more in common now, regardless of what we look like, where we’re from, or how we pray.”