The Golden Door: June 2023
Action Alert: Pride All Year!
As Pride Month comes to a close, we invite you to take action with Refugee Council USA and lift up the work of leading LGBTQIA+ immigrant rights organizations Rainbow Railroad, Black LGBTQIA+ Migrant Project, and Immigration Equality.
Plus, check out local queer- and trans-led organizations here in Maine, including MaineTransNet, OUT Maine, EqualityMaine, Portland Outright, and Queerly Maine.
Take action by learning more about their work, donating, or giving these organizations a follow on social media!
ILAP Renews Call to Redesignate TPS for Central American Countries and Nepal
The Trump administration attempted to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for many countries, including El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Nepal. Following these terminations in 2017 and 2018, TPS holders and their families challenged the legality in the courts and successfully halted the terminations.
This month, the Biden administration finally took action to withdraw the Trump administration’s terminations of El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Nepal. While TPS was extended for current TPS holders from these countries, the Biden administration failed to redesignate, which would have expanded TPS eligibility for people who arrived in the U.S. more recently.
The cut off dates for El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua are now 20 years ago. ILAP joins partners across the country in renewing its calls for the Biden administration to redesignate these countries and extend life-saving TPS protection for all in need.
Protect Yourself
Immigration laws and processes are complicated and hard to navigate. If you are an immigrant trying to do this navigating, you know this better than anyone.
Be sure that anyone giving you advice on your immigration paperwork is an immigration lawyer or is supervised by an immigration lawyer.
Getting advice on your immigration paperwork from someone who is not an immigration lawyer can have serious consequences. Your immigration case can be damaged or even completely ruined.
Learn more and spread the word to help immigrants protect themselves at ilapmaine.org/protect. Materials are available in English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Haitian Creole, Kinyarwanda, and Somali.
Maine Senate Votes Down Health Care For All, Advocates Remain Committed
This week, the Maine Senate rejected a critical bill (LD 199) that would have restored access to health care for immigrants across the state.
Despite broad support in Maine for accessible health care and the bill's clear benefits to all of us, the Senate voted down LD 199 with no debate or roll call - after it passed the House earlier this week.
We thank the All Means All Coalition for their incredible leadership and all who supported this life-saving bill. As the Coalition makes clear: “Those without access to life-saving health care can’t afford the luxury of time, so we'll continue to bring their urgent stories to legislators and we won’t stop until health care for all truly means all." Read the full statement here.
Senator Gillibrand of New York Introduces New Asylum Work Permits Bill
PLEASE NOTE: This section discusses proposed changes to federal law. There is no change in the law or process right now. If any proposals are passed into law, look to ILAP's website and social media, MIRC, and other reliable sources of information in Maine.
Senator Gillibrand introduced the Assisting Seekers in Pursuit of Integration and Rapid Employment (ASPIRE) Act on June 23, a new bill which would help asylum seekers to access work permits earlier in the process.
Modeled closely after Representative Pingree’s bill in the House, known as the Asylum Seeker Work Authorization Act, this new Senate bill would reduce the waiting period for all asylum seekers to be eligible for work permits down to 30 days after submitting their asylum application.
Like Representative Pingree’s bill, work permits would remain valid for as long as asylum cases are pending, eliminating the need for asylum seekers to renew their work permits repeatedly during the years-long processing of their asylum claims. Due to federal government backlogs, renewal requirements result in asylum seekers having gaps in their work authorization at no fault of their own, harming them and the businesses that employ them.
Senator Gillibrand’s bill also includes $10 billion to assist local governments and nonprofits in meeting the needs of asylum seekers and $2 billion to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to help clear the asylum case backlog.
Honor Someone in Your Life with a Gift to ILAP
This year is ILAP's 30th anniversary and we have been reflecting on all the people who have impacted ILAP over the last three decades. Who are the people who have made a difference in your life and community?
We want to help you honor and remember these people. Head to ILAP’s donate page to dedicate your gift in honor or memory of someone who has made an impact on you.
Gifts of all sizes are welcome! If you’re unable to make a gift at this time, feel free to email us at contact@ilapmaine.org and tell us who you’d like to honor.
If you include the contact information of the person you’re honoring, we will send them a card from ILAP. We plan to feature the names and stories of all who are honored and remembered by our community during our 30th anniversary celebration this fall!
Round Up in Support of ILAP this July
ILAP was recently voted a Portland Food Co-op Register Round-Up Partner!
This means you can support ILAP while shopping for your cookout or picking up local veggies at the Co-op this July. Say "yes" to rounding up your grocery bill and your extra change will go toward advancing justice and equity for immigrants in Maine!
We are honored to be among such a great group of round-up partners this year. Since starting this program in June 2019, the Co-op has raised more than $155,000 for local organizations.
Thank you, Portland Food Co-op, for supporting our shared community!
ILAP in the News
Senior Project Attorney Catherine Lindgren reflects on Bernstein Shur's pivotal role in supporting Afghan evacuees in an announcement about the Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year award ILAP presented to the firm this year.
ILAP joined more than 100 organizations in calling for the return of unjustly deported people, as part of the Chance to Come Home campaign.
ICYMI: ILAP's Spring Newsletter is Here!
The latest issue of ILAP's Immigrant Beacon newsletter is here! Find it in your mailboxes, read it online, or download as a PDF.
Inside this Issue: