ILAP Community Update: April 4
April 4, 2025
Dear Community,
We all have rights under the Constitution, no matter what our immigration status is. Knowing our rights and sharing accurate Know Your Rights information is key to keeping our communities as protected as possible during these times.
In past weeks, we’ve seen people witnessing arrests by immigration officials take action by filming and sharing. These recordings have been crucial in lifting up stories and not allowing our government to silently disappear residents. Learn about your rights and other important considerations regarding recording immigration officials in public here.
ACTION ALERT: Urge Maine Lawmakers to Expand Critical Civil Legal Aid Funding
In most civil legal aid matters – including immigration cases – there is no right to counsel, so Mainers who can't afford a lawyer must face these legal problems alone.
Maine has a strong civil legal aid infrastructure made up of seven core legal aid providers who coordinate closely and make efficient use of their funding. Unfortunately, this system has long been woefully underfunded. Thousands of Mainers have unmet legal needs which has negative consequences for them, for our communities, and for our economy.
Right now, Maine legislators are working on the state's biennial budget. We need to urge Maine lawmakers to convert funding that will expire this summer into ongoing funding to avoid significant cuts to legal services. An increase in legal aid funding is also needed to bridge the justice gap in Maine by investing in our state’s civil legal aid services.
Immigration Law & Policy Updates
ILAP is committed to helping our community make sense of immigration news and its impact.
We share immigration law and policy developments every Friday through these Community Update emails and on social media. Below is a summary of some key developments from the past week, as of April 4, 2025.
PLEASE NOTE: All updates are subject to rapid change.
Immigration Announcement:
Venezuela Temporary Protected Status (TPS) termination temporarily halted in the courts
What It Means:
A federal district judge temporarily halted the Trump administration’s termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for some Venezuelan TPS holders, which was set to expire this week.
In his decision, the judge outlined the “irreparable harm on hundreds of thousands of persons whose lives, families, and livelihoods will be severely disrupted, cost the United States billions in economic activity, and injure public health and safety in communities throughout the United States." The decision also highlighted the fact that "the government has failed to identify any real countervailing harm in continuing TPS for Venezuelan beneficiaries.”
The judge found that the TPS holders who brought the case are likely to succeed given violations of law by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the administration’s clear, unconstitutional racial animus.
Trump administration admits to mistakenly deporting a Maryland man, other cases suspected
The Trump administration has admitted to wrongly deporting Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia who had protection from deportation under U.S. law. Abrego was deported to a prison in El Salvador, the country he had fled from due to threats from gangs.
An asylum seeker, Andry José Hernández Romero, who fled persecution in Venezuela due to his sexual orientation, is also among the people believed to be wrongly deported to an El Salvador prison.
These wrongful deportations pose grave threats to the safety of vulnerable people and the well-being of their families and demonstrate the administration’s brazen disregard for due process and the rule of law.
Wells, Maine is negotiating a contract to voluntarily assist ICE with immigration enforcement
Wells, Maine is in the process of negotiating a contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to voluntarily assist in immigration enforcement.
This type of contract, known as a 287(g) agreement, harms immigrant communities, increases racial profiling, drains taxpayer dollars, depletes public safety resources, and harms local economies.
Judge holds ICE agent in contempt of court for violating due process rights of man on trial
Our Constitution requires the government to follow certain procedures before depriving people of their life, liberty, or property.
This week, a judge in Massachusetts found an ICE agent to be in contempt of court for arresting a man on trial outside the courthouse.
ICE arrests at courthouses pose serious harm to individuals and society at large – they slow and prevent noncitizens from exercising their rights, serving as witnesses in cases, and more.
For previous updates from ILAP, check out the links below:
March 28, 2024: March Golden Door
March 14, 2024: Community Update
March 7, 2025: Community Update
Last Chance to Register for Next Week's Event!
ILAP is looking forward to joining our partners at next week's Compassion Starts Here: An Event to Inspire Action - and we hope to see you there too! The event is at Maine Studio Works in Portland on Wednesday, April 9th from 5:00 - 7:30pm.
The evening will include assembling warming and cleaning kits with Maine Needs, signing postcards and making calls to legislators with ILAP and Preble Street, plus a community art project led by the Equality Community Center. It's free to attend, but registration is required.
Know Your Rights
An important step you can take now to protect yourself is to learn your rights! See ILAP’s resources here.
Stay Connected:
Follow ILAP @ilapmaine on social media for the latest updates:
Members of the Maine Bar can support ILAP’s work by donating to the Campaign for Justice, a special collaborative fundraising effort by Maine’s legal community to support legal aid.
