ILAP Shares Results of Statewide Scan of Immigration Legal Needs
Need for Immigration Legal Services
As Maine’s immigrant population grows, more people outside of the Portland and Lewiston metro areas require immigration legal services to meet their basic needs, advance towards economic security, and create brighter futures for their families and communities. This trend holds true in small cities like Augusta, Bangor, and Biddeford and in rural areas with strong agricultural, fishery, and forestry sectors. Unfortunately, immigrants outside of Portland and Lewiston, where ILAP’s offices are located, face geographic and transportation barriers to accessing the immigration legal services they critically need. And the COVID-19 pandemic has only deepened their isolation.
Since 2016, many immigrants have become more fearful of travelling due to heightened immigration enforcement and detention efforts often rooted in racial profiling. The entire state of Maine lies within the “100-Mile Border Zone” where U.S. Customs & Border Protection can operate with additional authority. A recent focus group of former clients and community members living in Washington County reported racial profiling to be a serious problem, with almost all participants having been followed by police and questioned without cause.
Results of Statewide Scan
Recognizing the growing need for immigration legal services in rural areas of Maine, in 2018-2019 ILAP completed a state-wide scan to better understand the specific needs of different communities and to develop a clear plan for meeting more of these needs. Local organizations and service providers that work with immigrant communities were instrumental partners, most notably Maine Mobile Health, Mano en Mano, and the Farmworkers Resource Network.
Using the results of this scan, ILAP has identified the following priorities for further developing the Rural Maine Project moving forward:
Develop an approach for conducting outreach* in areas with year-round immigrant communities, such as Biddeford, Augusta, and Bangor.
Conduct outreach* at the many well-established agricultural resource fairs across the state, which are held for seasonal workers at the beginning of each harvest.
Proactively outreach* to smaller, more isolated immigrant communities in central and northern Maine to ensure they understand their civil and constitutional rights.
Maintain and grow the important relationships with local community organizations and service providers in each region.
* We will conduct virtual outreach to align with public health recommendations related to COVID-19 until we can resume in-person outreach.
Key Takeaways by Region
To complete this scan, staff traveled more than 6,000 miles across the state to the towns and small cities of Augusta, Bangor, Biddeford, Blue Hill, Caribou, Clinton, Dover-Foxcroft, Ellsworth, Hinkley, Machias, Presque Isle, Sanford, Springvale, Turner, Waterville, and West Paris. By listening, seeking information, and building relationships with residents and service providers, we learned more about Maine’s rural immigrants, their legal needs and the community supports available to them. Through this work, ILAP significantly expanded our role as a trusted resource for seasonal workers, survivors of domestic violence, trafficking, and crime, and the organizations who work with them state-wide.
Key takeaways, by location or region, are:
Aroostook County reports a significant population of seasonal and year-round workers in the agricultural and forestry sectors, including during the potato, broccoli, and wreath seasons. Because of its proximity to Canada, immigration enforcement is a constant presence and is often called by local law enforcement including for interpretation. Given the size and isolation of these communities, ILAP will prioritize outreach related to know-your-rights information and racial profiling and build on our relationships with local domestic violence responders.
Downeast Maine reports a significant population of seasonal and year-round workers in the agricultural sector, including in the blueberry, hemp, and wreath industries. Building on ILAP’s bi-monthly presence in Milbridge, we attended several well-organized and well-attended welcome centers and resource fairs for seasonal workers. Moving forward, we will continue this affirmative outreach, build on our relationships with local domestic violence responders, and learn more about the legal needs of immigrant workers in the fishery sector.
Bangor reports established Haitian and Latinx communities, and also anticipates that its asylum-seeking community may grow in the future as housing in southern Maine becomes inaccessible. Many organizations that serve large areas of northern and eastern Maine are located in Bangor. So ILAP offered trainings for those service providers and outreached to local community groups. Moving forward, ILAP will use these partnerships to facilitate client referrals and offer affirmative outreach on issues including domestic violence, trafficking, and racial profiling.
Central Maine reports a significant population of seasonal and year-round workers in the agricultural sector, including at dairy and vegetable farms. In June, ILAP collaborated with Maine Mobile Health Program, Maine Migrant Education Program, and other organizations to hold two resource fairs as the newly formed Central Maine Service Providers. To build on these initial interactions with immigrant community members, many of whom are fearful of heightened immigration enforcement, ILAP has prioritized further outreach related to know-your-rights information and racial profiling.
Augusta reports established Iraqi, Syrian, and other Middle Eastern communities, and anticipates that its asylum-seeking community may grow in the future as housing in southern Maine becomes inaccessible. Community organizations and service providers, including the Capital Area New Mainers Project, welcomed ILAP’s presence. Like in Bangor, ILAP will use these partnerships to facilitate client referrals and offer affirmative outreach on issues like domestic violence protections, family reunification, and racial profiling.
Western Maine reports a smaller population of seasonal agricultural workers. Many have a long history of working during the apple harvest and conveyed no unmet legal needs. To disseminate pressing information to this community when needed, ILAP will utilize our partnership with Maine Mobile Health. The region also reports seasonal and year-round workers at local egg farms. Unlike their counterparts in the apple harvest, many workers were fearful of heightened immigration enforcement and ILAP has prioritized further outreach related to know-your-rights information and racial profiling.
Biddeford reports established Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian communities, and its asylum-seeking community has recently begun to grow. Because the city hosts many of York County’s service providers, ILAP offered trainings for several organizations and outreached to immigrant community members through Biddeford Adult Education. Given Biddeford’s proximity to our Portland office, we will work with community members to determine what combination of services will best connect them to the immigration legal services they need.
Special Thanks
In addition to the community organizations and service providers listed in this report, ILAP is grateful to the Maine Justice Foundation, Stephen & Tabitha King Foundation and generous anonymous donors for their support of the Rural Maine Project. As this report illustrates, there is a clear need for immigration legal services in many communities across the state that currently have limited access to them. Without the Rural Maine Project, people would be forced to travel to ILAP’s offices in Portland or Lewiston or to forego assistance altogether and risk losing legal status and work authorization. With a clear vision for the future of the project, we look forward to continuing our work from York to Aroostook counties.