Each year, we are featured by dozens of local, regional, and national outlets on what changes to immigration laws and policies mean and how they impact Maine’s immigration communities. You can read our recent coverage below.
Members of the press may submit their inquires to press@ilapmaine.org.
This year, the Harward Center awarded grants of $16,322.50 to five community organizations that support refugees and asylum seekers: Maine Immigrant and Refugee Services, Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, Asylum Seekers Resettlement Program, St. Mary’s Nutrition Center, and Trinity Jubilee Center.
Luis, an Ecuadorian asylum seeker who owns a contracting company in Maine, said he was on his way to a job in the town of Oxford in early April when he was involved in a minor traffic accident.
Luis, who asked to be identified only by his first name given his ongoing immigration case, said an Oxford police officer checked his license and insurance information, and asked for the address of the jobsite he was headed to.
Advocates say immigration officials are moving people detained in Maine far from the state, making it hard for their loved ones to keep up.
A benefit concert called “Peace Love and Understanding Through Song and Action” has been organized by Stonington resident Geoff Warner for Saturday, June 14, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the First Congregational Church of Blue Hill, 22 Tenney Hill Road. According to Warner, the title is inspired by Nick Lowe’s song What’s So Funny ‘Bout Peace Love and Understanding.
It’s been nearly six months since President Donald Trump took office, and among the whirlwind of new policies and executive orders was a series of new stances on immigration that to date have created a culture of fear among immigrants in Maine, according to the people who work with them.
ILAP and the ACLU of Maine have each filed separate habeas corpus petitions in federal court, challenging the detention of their individual clients by federal immigration authorities. Executive Director Sue Roche highlights the importance of a related bill currently being considered by the Maine Legislature.
ILAP was among those to provide testimony before Maine Legislature's Judiciary Committee in strong support of two bills aimed at protecting Maine’s resources from being used for the Trump administration’s inhumane mass deportation agenda.
ILAP was among those to provide testimony before Maine Legislature's Judiciary Committee in strong support of two bills aimed at protecting Maine’s resources from being used for the Trump administration’s inhumane mass deportation agenda.
Co-Legal Director Melissa Brennan describes the "needless, abject cruelty" in the case of Lewiston teenager Jose Adalberto Herrera who has spent two months and counting at a detention center hundreds of miles away as a result of a traffic stop in Maine.
Co-Legal Director Alice Kopij highlights the courage it takes for immigrant workers to come forward to report abuse and unsafe working conditions.
Policy Director Lisa Parisio discusses the spike in immigration enforcement in Maine, sharing that ILAP has seen at least ten cases involving people who have been detained despite being in lawful immigration processes with valid work permits and no criminal history.
Maine residents and immigrant rights organizations express opposition to the new Wells Police Department’s contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
