The Golden Door: June 2021
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.
Call to Action: Help Restore Healthcare for All
LD 718, An Act To Improve the Health of Maine Residents by Closing Coverage Gaps in the MaineCare Program and the Children's Health Insurance Program, would restore MaineCare for everyone, regardless of immigration status.
Maine's budget includes MaineCare for immigrants under age 21 or who are pregnant, regardless of their immigration status. While this represents progress, adults are still NOT covered in the budget. We need our legislators to vote YES on LD 718 and restore MaineCare to our noncitizen neighbors, friends, and community members.
Send a message to your Senators TODAY using this tool from Maine Equal Justice: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/support-ld-718-adults/. All means all!
Attorney General Reverses Anti-Asylum Policies
Attorney General Merrick Garland has vacated Trump-era decisions that decimated asylum protections for those fleeing gender-based and gang violence and persecution against families. These new decisions reopen a pathway to safety for survivors.
In May, ILAP signed on to a letter asking the Attorney General to vacate these anti-refugee decisions. We applaud the Biden Administration for listening to advocates and hope this is the first step toward fully restoring and expanding asylum protections in the United States.
ILAP's Updated Asylum Manual Now Available!
ILAP is excited to share the 2021 version of our Self-Help Asylum Manual, updated to better meet the needs of asylum seekers in Maine!
The Asylum Manual, created in partnership with the University of Maine's School of Law, is free to access and includes step-by-step instructions to help asylum seekers through the entire process of applying for asylum. The updated 2021 version now has specific information for asylum applicants in Maine who are filing with the USCIS Boston Asylum Office or the Boston Immigration Court.
Find the 2021 updated Asylum Manual on our website along with other important resources here: https://ilapmaine.org/asylum-self-help
New Policy Makes Survivors of Serious Crimes Eligible For Work Permit While U Visa Case Is Pending
The U visa was created to provide lawful status to immigrant crime victims who provide assistance to law enforcement. There is currently a years-long backlog for survivors of serious crimes to even get their cases placed on a waitlist. While individuals are stuck in this backlog, they are at risk of deportation and have no way of lawfully working. This puts them at risk of abusive or exploitative situations.
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced in June that U visa applicants who present a so-called “bona fide case,” or a case that is made in good faith, will be eligible for a work permit and protection from deportation. This will impact numerous ILAP clients who are struggling to survive while they await adjudication of their cases. This is a life-saving action by the Biden Administration that will also make our communities safer for everyone.
Biden Shows Immigration Changes to Look Out For In Regulatory Agenda
This month, the Biden administration released its “Unified Regulatory Agenda,” which is a preview of regulations the administration intends to propose or implement in the year ahead. The Unified Agenda shows the various ways that the administration intends to follow through with policies previewed in January’s flurry of executive orders.
The Unified Agenda lists several rules that would rescind all of the asylum bans from the past few years and would rescind the Trump asylum work permit rules. Another regulation would “protect and fortify” the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Others would implement a new “public charge” rule and a new fee rule for applications.
As these rules are proposed and finalized, be sure to check our Facebook page for up-to-date information as well as opportunities to submit comments in response to proposed rules. While all the policies previewed in the Unified Agenda may not become law, and may take many months or years to implement, they represent a commitment by the Biden Administration to reverse Trump-era attacks on immigrants.
Maine Women's Fund Grantee Celebration
ILAP is grateful to be among the nonprofits to receive funding from the Maine Women's Fund (MWF) in support of our work with immigrant survivors of violence. We are honored to be named alongside many other inspiring organizations, including In Her Presence, Mano en Mano, Maine Women's Lobby, and others.
ILAP joined the other MWF grantees last week for the 2021 Grantee Celebration. Click here to watch the full recording.
Read more and find the full list of grantees in this MaineBiz article!
A Closer Look
This section of the Golden Door takes “a closer look” at immigration using an intersectional lens based on a monthly theme. Let us know what you think!
Juneteenth
Juneteenth, celebrated earlier this month, is the oldest nationally celebrated holiday commemorating the formal end of slavery in the United States. June 19th, shortened to "Juneteenth," marks the day Union troops came to Galveston, Texas – over 2 years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed – to notify still enslaved African Americans of their freedom. Juneteenth has been celebrated by Black communities since the 1800s and is characterized by celebrations of Black freedom and calls for racial justice.
Following the leadership of Gateway Community Services and others, ILAP’s Board of Directors voted unanimously last year to recognize Juneteenth as a paid holiday for all staff.
Maine made it a paid holiday this year (effective 2022). Congress also voted to establish Juneteenth as a federal holiday, though as Tiffany Gill of Rutgers said, “the gesture rings hollow in light of recent attempts by that same body to silence the teaching of African American history…and their failure to pass any meaningful legislation to secure voting rights.”
Juneteenth is not just about history: the legacy of slavery impacts every aspect of our lives today. Black people and communities of color are still fighting for true freedom and liberation. As Anti-Racism Daily's Nicole Cardoza wrote, "Black people have been fighting for their rights to what white Americans have been granted since the Independence Day we still celebrate today."
Keep Learning:
The New York Times: So You Want to Learn About Juneteenth?
Maine Inside Out: Juneteenth: Looking for Action
Coded by Young Women of Color (CYWOC): Juneteenth! 2021
Just Causes Opportunity EXTENDED!
We’ve been thrilled by the response from our community, so we’re adding two more weeks to our JUST CAUSES campaign!
ILAP is honored to be a beneficiary of this compilation album from Noel Paul Stookey of seminal 1960s folk trio Peter, Paul & Mary, released earlier this spring as the latest iteration of his social activism.
Make a gift of $30 or more – now through July 15 – and we'll share a copy of JUST CAUSES as a thank you! Visit ilapmaine.org/justcauses and be sure to let us know if you’d like the album as a CD or digital download.
Your gift will also be doubled and help us meet a $10,000 match opportunity generously provided by the George J. and Theresa L. Cotsirilos Family Foundation!
Today in Maine, a family celebrates their father’s visa after 10 years of uncertainty and two teenagers celebrate wins that put them on paths toward citizenship. These are ILAP clients, and these life-changing moments are only possible because of their resilience, expert legal guidance from our attorneys, a strong network of community partners, and supporters like you.