The Golden Door: April Special Edition
Legal and Policy Issues
We are closely monitoring state and federal immigration law and policy. Please check our social media accounts for more frequent updates.
To our ILAP community,
As we navigate this time of isolation and uncertainty together, I hope that you and your loved ones are healthy and safe.
With each passing week, we are seeing more ways that the COVID-19 pandemic is upending the U.S. immigration system, complicating the practice of immigration law, and hurting Maine’s immigrant communities. And unfortunately, it comes after three years of destructive policy changes and attacks on access to justice and constitutional protections.
In the face of this latest crisis, ILAP is dedicated to supporting the legal needs of our immigrant neighbors and committed to providing reliable information for all. From getting people out of detention to ensuring asylum seekers meet their one-year filing deadline, our staff and volunteer attorneys are continuing their complex work with clients remotely.
We are also amplifying outreach, education, and advocacy activities to bring reliable and timely information to our community, while joining with partners to fight for the rights and safety of Maine’s immigrants. You can read more about new legal resources, the latest policy developments, and how you can take action below.
Some community members are donating a portion of their government stimulus check in mutual support and solidarity with those most affected by the public health crisis. If you are in a position to do so, ILAP would welcome a gift towards our COVID-19 response effort at www.ilapmaine.org/donate.
As always, thank you for your help advancing justice and equity for immigrants in Maine.
Take Action: Demand Congress Fix Gaps in Coronavirus Relief
ILAP is deeply disappointed with the Families First Coronavirus Response and CARES Acts, which left low- and middle-income immigrant families out of our nation’s recovery plans. COVID-19 does not discriminate, and neither should our public health and economic stimulus policies.
Congress can fix this. Call Maine's congressional delegation and urge them to include the following provisions in the next stimulus package:
Suspend the public charge rule.
Release vulnerable people from detention and suspend immigration enforcement.
Provide Medicaid coverage of COVID-19-related services to everyone, regardless of immigration status.
Include immigrant taxpayers with an individual tax identification number (ITIN) in any cash relief benefits.
Automatically extend work permits during the national emergency period and for 60 days after.
Mainers must confront this crisis together, which is impossible when some of our community members are completely left behind by the government. Call Maine's congressional delegation today and urge them to include immigrant families in the next stimulus package!
📞 Senator Susan Collins: 202-224-2523
📞 Senator Angus King: 202-224-5344
📞 Representative Jared Golden: 202-225-6306
📞 Representative Chellie Pingree has signed on to a bill with these provisions! Please call her and thank her for her leadership: 202-225-6116
Urge ICE and CBP to Suspend Enforcement
Under the leadership of ACLU of Maine, ILAP joins advocates from around Maine to urge the local Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs & Border Protection (CBP) offices to suspend enforcement actions.
We are calling on immigration agencies to suspend all civil immigration enforcement activities in Maine in order to protect people during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite ICE’s avowed plan to “delay enforcement actions” during the public health crisis, federal immigration officials in Maine continue to target immigrants and refugees.
You can read the full text of the ACLU of Maine's letter here. Keep up to date on the latest immigration policy and advocacy updates related to COVID-19 on our new COVID-19 Policy page.
Access our New "Change of Address" Self-Help Guide
ILAP now has a "Change of Address" self-help guide available here. Anyone with a case in immigration court, including people seeking asylum, must file a "Change of Address" form within five days of moving or risk missing a hearing notice and being ordered deported. Since last summer, more than 600 people have come to our weekly "Change of Address" clinic to file this important form correctly.
To provide assistance while our clinic is temporarily interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, we have created a detailed, step-by-step guide with the information needed to fill out and mail the "Change of Address" form from home. The guide is currently available in English and Portuguese, with Spanish, French, and Lingala translations coming soon.
We'll be making more self-help and legal information available online over the coming days and weeks. Please check back often!
Get Legal Help
While ILAP's offices are temporarily closed, we are providing our services remotely and working with clients by phone and email. We are also prioritizing intake for certain types of urgent cases, including those involving immigrant young people, survivors of domestic violence or trafficking, asylum seekers who are nearing their one-year filing deadline, and people at risk of losing their legal status.
Additionally, we are offering virtual education and outreach to share important updates with Maine’s immigrant communities and service providers. In this time of physical distancing, we remain committed to providing useful, accurate and timely information on U.S. immigration laws and policies, as well as changes related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
For more information on how we are providing our services remotely and to read other important legal information, please visit our COVID-19 & Immigration page (which is translated into French, Portuguese and Spanish).