ILAP Testimony in Support of LD 1533, An Act To Amend the Foreign Credentialing and Skills Recognition Revolving Loan Program

Thank you Senator Curry, Representative Roberts, and distinguished members of the Joint Standing Committee on Innovation, Development, Economic Advancement and Business for the opportunity to submit this testimony in strong support of LD 1533, An Act To Amend the Foreign Credentialing and Skills Recognition Revolving Loan Program.

My name is Julia Brown and I am the Advocacy and Outreach Director at the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project (ILAP). ILAP is Maine’s only statewide organization that provides immigration legal aid to low-income immigrants. Each year, ILAP serves over 3,000 individuals statewide, coming from approximately 100 countries around the world. On behalf of ILAP, I would like to express our support for LD 1533.

LD 1533 amends the Foreign Credentialing and Skills Recognition Revolving Loan Program, which provides interest-free loans to immigrants who need assistance while awaiting their federal employment authorization (“work permit”) to pay costs that will improve their work-readiness once they receive their work permits.

Immigration law is created by the federal government, and it can and does change. In the last year alone, the federal government implemented regulations to increase the wait period and charge a fee for an asylum seeker’s first work permit. While courts have blocked the fee for the initial work permit, this uncertainty shows how immigration law is subject to change. The amendments in LD 1533 protect against future federal changes like a change to the wait for a work permit or an increase in fees for an initial work permit.

LD 1533 would insulate Maine law from changing federal regulations and ensure that the Foreign Credentialing and Skills Recognition Revolving Loan Program works as the Legislature intended. I urge you to vote Ought to Pass on LD 1533.

A PDF version of this statement is available here.