The Golden Door: November 2022

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CALL TO ACTION: Call on Governor Mills to Take Emergency Action for Asylum Seekers

Join ILAP in supporting the Neighbors Need ME sign on letter to Governor Mills, calling on the State to coordinate an emergency response to assist asylum seekers and other vulnerable people in Maine at risk of losing shelter as winter approaches.

This call to action builds on some of the recommendations submitted to the Mills administration by the Maine Immigrants' Rights Coalition (MIRC) last spring, endorsed by ILAP and nearly 80 organizations serving and supporting asylum seekers in Maine.

CALL TO ACTION: Congress Must Pass Pathway to Citizenship by End of the Year!

With just a matter of days left for Congress to pass legislation before the end of the year, immigrant-led organizations, CHIRLA and NAKASEC are leading a national campaign to update the registry and unlock permanent residence for millions.

“The registry” has been a part of U.S. immigration law since 1929. It allows immigrants who have lived in the U.S. since a certain cut-off date (and have met other extensive requirements) to apply for permanent status. This registry cut-off date has been updated many times since first put into law but not for fifty years when the Reagan administration set it at January 1, 1972. Learn more here.

Updating the registry would provide a pathway to an estimated 8 million people including Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders, and other long-time community members. Use the button below to contact your Members of Congress and make clear that citizenship can’t wait!

Pressure Mounts for Senator Collins to Support Afghan Adjustment Act

Maine Vets for Afghans led more than 125 Maine veterans in a letter to Senator Collins in November, calling on her to immediately co-sponsor the Afghan Adjustment Act (AAA).

The bipartisan AAA will safeguard U.S. national security, help hundreds of Afghan allies in Maine – and tens of thousands throughout the United States – to begin rebuilding their lives, and take some key steps in assisting at-risk Afghan allies who were not able to escape Afghanistan and remain in grave danger due to their alliance with the U.S.

To learn more, sign up for the Maine Vets for Afghans newsletter, or volunteer, visit: https://maine-vets-for-afghans.org/.

Federal District Court Orders Biden Administration to End Deadly Title 42 Policy

First put in place by the Trump administration and affirmatively continued by the Biden administration, Title 42 is a deadly policy that has effectively denied asylum seekers their right to seek asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has called on the Biden administration to end the policy, “in line with international legal and human rights obligations.”

On November 15, a federal district court struck down the use of Title 42 and ordered the Biden administration to end it.

The Welcome With Dignity Campaign, of which ILAP is a proud member, shared the following update after the decision:

“Judge Emmet Sullivan of the D.C. District Court issued a positive decision in Huisha-Huisha v. Mayorkas, a class action lawsuit on behalf of refugee families. Sullivan ruled that the Title 42 expulsion policy violates U.S. law and ordered the Biden administration to end it. The decision will not take immediate effect. Under Judge Sullivan’s ruling, on December 21 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) orders underlying the policy will be vacated, and the government will stop subjecting asylum seekers to Title 42."

They continued: "At this point the preliminary injunction in Arizona v. CDC, a lawsuit brought by anti-immigrant politicians that previously prevented the administration from ending Title 42, can no longer be used to block and expel asylum seekers at the border.”

Upcoming ILAP Change of Venue Clinic

We are hosting another Change of Venue Clinic this December:

Where:
ILAP Portland Office
489 Congress Street, 3rd Floor, Portland, ME 04101

When:
Friday, December 16th
10am - 12pm

Find more info in your language:

Through these clinics, we ensure immigrants living in Maine are scheduled for hearings in Boston Immigration Court, the closest court to Maine, and avoid deportation because of missed hearings.

 

Job Opportunity

Immigration Assistance Outreach Coordinator

ILAP is launching an "Asylum Assistance and Legal Orientation Project," a new project to expand critical legal services to new arrivals in Maine. As part of this project, we are hiring a full-time Immigration Assistance Outreach Coordinator to coordinate outreach, education, and legal services to new arrivals and unrepresented immigrants, with a special focus on those housed in shelters and hotels.

Beginning salary is $41,500 or more depending on experience and language skills. Review of applications will begin December 7 and continue until the position is filled. Find the full position description and details about applying here: ilapmaine.org/employment.

Summer 2023 Legal Internship Opportunities

Our legal summer internship applications are now open!

  • NEW: Racial Justice Fellow (paid, full-time, in-person): With the support of the Maine Justice Foundation’s Racial Justice Fund, ILAP is offering a paid Racial Justice Fellowship. Candidates must identify as an immigrant or have a lived immigrant experience. The Racial Justice Fellow (law student, rising 2L or 3L) will work full time with our legal team in our Portland office on a variety of case-types and projects.

  • Summer 2023 Legal Intern (full-time, in-person): ILAP is also seeking a law student intern (rising 2L or 3L) to work full time in our Portland office during summer 2023, working with our legal team on a variety of case-types and projects.

Internship and fellowship applications will be accepted and assessed on a rolling basis, but first consideration will be given to applications received by January 13, 2023.

ILAP + Akakpo & Co. Bravery Thermos

Have you purchased your ILAP + Akakpo & Co. thermos yet?

It’s the perfect gift for anyone on your list – including yourself! Buying a Bravery thermos means supporting Akakpo & Co., a local immigrant-owned business, and directly investing in ILAP’s legal services and advocacy work.

These beautiful thermoses embody the bravery of migration, the bravery of starting over, and the bravery of speaking out. For every thermos sold, Akakpo & Co. will donate a portion of the proceeds to support ILAP’s work advancing equity and justice for immigrants in Maine.

ILAP in the News

ILAP joined 130+ organizations in calling on the Biden Administration to include immigrants in pardons for marijuana convictions and ensure their protection from immigration consequences.

ILAP also signed onto a letter from the Haitian Bridge Alliance and 287 other organizations calling on the Biden Administration to prioritize protections for Haitian immigrants.

ICYMI: ILAP's Fall Newsletter Is Out Now

In case you missed it, we are proud to share our latest issue of ILAP's Immigrant Beacon newsletter with you! You can check it out online or download as a PDF.

Hear from ILAP's clients about their experiences with Temporary Protected Status (TPS), learn more about our community legal education work across the state, find photos from ILAP's fall event, and catch up on our direct legal aid and advocacy work over the last six months.

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