The Golden Door: April 2024
ILAP’s volunteer and partner awardees stand together with their awards, designed by Akakpo & Co., during our appreciation event at SPACE this month. Event photography by Junes Thete of Why Not Productions.
Announcing ILAP's Annual Awards and Celebrating Our Volunteers and Partners
Together with our network of volunteers, partner organizations, business partners, supporters, and advocates, ILAP touched the lives of 4,547 immigrants across Maine in 2023 and impacted the lives of many more through our systemic advocacy.
In celebration of National Volunteer Month, ILAP hosted our annual Volunteer and Partner Appreciation Night to recognize the dedicated community who made such an impact possible and present awards to several stand-out volunteers and partners from the last year. We were honored to have been joined by Congresswoman Chellie Pingree and her team, along with 100+ people from across our community.
ILAP'S 2023 VOLUNTEER & COMMUNITY PARTNER AWARDS:
Business Partner Award: Unum
Community Impact Award: Dedicated team supporting ILAP's Asylum Assistance and Legal Orientation Project (AALOP), including Catholic Charities Maine Immigration Legal Services, the University of Maine School of Law Refugee & Human Rights Clinic, and 50+ volunteer attorneys and accredited representatives, law students, and volunteer interpreters
Community Partners of the Year: Presente! Maine & Lewiston Adult Education
Client Champion Award: Dr. Charles Mitchell
Development Legacy Award: Ron Stegall
Development Volunteer of the Year: Marty Hamre
Grassroots Fundraiser Award: Dan McDonald & the Portland Food Co-op
ILAP Hero: Kent Denslow
Policy Leader Award: Congresswoman Chellie Pingree
Pro BonoAttorney of the Year: Arnie MacDonald, Esq.
Pro BonoLaw Firm of the Year: Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP
Supporting Immigrant Youth Award: Pine Tree Legal Assistance Family Law and Victim Rights Unit
Maine to Establish Office of New Americans!
ILAP applauds the Mills administration and partner organizations across Maine for their incredible efforts and success in establishing a Maine Office of New Americans! Maine will become the 19th state in the country to have a state-level agency working to welcome, support, and integrate new immigrants.
The Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future shared: “On Monday, April 22, Governor Janet Mills signed the supplemental budget proposal passed by the Legislature, which included language to create the Office of New Americans and provide for two staff positions. The formal establishment of the office and the funding for its staff will become official when the budget legislation goes into effect, 90 days following the upcoming adjournment of the Legislature.”
A recent New York Times article details the opportunity that immigrants are bringing to the state, featuring the story of Maine's Chadai Gatembo from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
ILAP Expresses Outrage at Biden Administration for Deportations to Haiti
ILAP is in solidarity with Haitian people seeking safety in the U.S. and elsewhere along with the Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA) and other partners in condemning the Biden administration’s deportation flights to Haiti in April, amid a life-threatening humanitarian crisis.
ILAP calls for a comprehensive approach to protect human life and dignity including an extension and redesignation of Temporary Protected Status; an indefinite moratorium on deportation flights; the release of detainees and closing removal cases; and expedited and expanded parole options.
Read the Haitian Bridge Alliance's recent letter to learn about urgently needed policy solutions to safeguard Haitian neighbors in Maine and beyond. Plus, follow HBA to stay up to date with the latest news.
Extension and Redesignation of TPS for Ethiopia is Right Decision
ILAP applauds Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Mayorkas for extending and redesignating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Ethiopia as the country continues to experience armed conflict, human rights abuses, environmental shocks, and other extraordinary life-threatening conditions. DHS estimates that nearly 13,000 people will be newly eligible for TPS protection under the redesignation.
ILAP praises the steadfast leadership and advocacy of organizations including African Communities Together, Ethiopian Community Development Council, and the TPS – DED Administrative Advocacy Coalition who helped secure this life-saving status.
ILAP Joins 150+ Organizations to Call on Congressional Leaders to Condemn Anti-Immigrant, Extremist Language
ILAP joined a national effort to hold elected officials accountable for racist, anti-immigrant language by demanding Congressional leaders denounce the use of dehumanizing rhetoric.
“Elected officials and leaders around our country have a responsibility to denounce this dangerous rhetoric whenever they hear it and should never engage in it themselves," reads the letter to Congressional leaders. "Dehumanization is often a predictor and a primer of oppression, warming people up to the idea that oppressing another group is acceptable because they are a threat or not fully human.”
REMINDER: New Immigration Court Impacting Many in Maine
The Lowell Immigration Court in Chelmsford, Massachusetts opened at the beginning of April. Immigrants living in Maine with cases in immigration court may have their cases moved to this new court.
ILAP strongly recommends that people with cases in immigration court check the immigration court's website every week to see if their case has been moved. Case details can change at any time.
→ Immigration Court website: https://acis.eoir.justice.gov/en/
Attention: You may also receive notices or information by mail. It is very important the court has your updated address.
Informational Flyers:
Lowell Immigration Court PDF [English]
Le Tribunal de l'immigration de Lowell PDF [Français]
Tribunal ya immigration ya Lowell PDF [Lingala]
O Tribunal de Imigração de Lowell PDF [Português]
El Tribunal de Inmigración de Lowell PDF [Español]
NEW: ILAP recently updated our "How Do I Submit My Asylum Application to the Lowell Immigration Court?" guide with information about submitting asylum applications to the new Lowell Immigration Court, available in English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish. We are working hard on updating other online resources and will share these and other information as it becomes available.
ILAP Press Mentions
Photo credit: Junes Thete, Why Not Productions
Representative Chellie Pingree announced her acceptance of ILAP's 2023 Policy Leader Award, an award recognizing her leadership on the Asylum Seeker Work Authorization Act and her office's dedication to immigrants in Maine.
"For years, Representative Pingree has trailblazed and championed efforts to help asylum seekers access work permits earlier in the immigration process," said Executive Director Sue Roche. "ILAP applauds Representative Pingree and her whole staff for their tremendous commitment and exemplary dedication to immigrant rights and all of Maine.”
The Bangor Daily News announced that Maiz was named SBA's Maine and New England Minority Owned Small Business of the Year for 2024. Over the last year, Maiz donated $1 from the sale of each specialty cocktail to ILAP and most recently, catered our spring event. Congratulations and thanks for your support, Maiz!
The Sun Journal highlighted Norway Savings Bank's recent $3,000 gift to ILAP, continuing their decade-long history of investing in ILAP's mission. Thank you, Norway Savings Bank!
Upcoming Events Supporting Civil Legal Aid in Maine
ILAP is proud to be a member of the Campaign for Justice and a beneficiary of the Muskie Fund for Legal Services alongside our legal aid partners in Maine. We’re excited to share some of our collaborative events this spring:
Tomorrow, May 1st, the Campaign for Justice is commemorating Law Day with a giving day for civil legal aid! If you're a member of the Maine bar, take advantage of a generous $10,000 match opportunity and mark 20 years of Maine lawyers helping Maine people. Check out the Campaign's Facebook and Instagram pages to learn more.
And please mark your calendar for the 27th annual Muskie Access to Justice Award Ceremony on June 5 from 5-7pm at Ocean Gateway in Portland. Join us in celebrating this year’s honoree Mark Swann and applauding the resilience and hard work of Maine's civil legal aid community. We hope to see you there!
