The Golden Door: March 2025

Please check our Facebook, X, and Instagram for more frequent updates.

"America’s immigration history is about the ‘golden door,’ not the golden visa"

ILAP's monthly e-newsletter, launched in 2017 with help from Stephanie Cotsirilos, is named the Golden Door after Emma Lazarus's poem "The New Colossus." The poem, which is inscribed on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty, ends by saying "Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Earlier this month, ILAP's Policy Director Lisa Parisio wrote an op-ed for the Bangor Daily News about the Trump administration’s $5 million "golden visa." Lisa writes: "Lady Liberty still lifts her lamp beside the golden door for her tired, poor, huddled masses yearning to breathe free. Let’s keep following her light and not sell out the promise of America to the highest bidder."

READ THE OP-ED

Blocked by a paywall?
Check out our post on Instagram or Facebook to view Lisa's full op-ed.

Join Us In Person to Take Action Together!

Have you been looking for ways to put compassion into action? ILAP is proud to be partnering with Preble Street and other local organizations for Compassion Starts Here: An Event to Inspire Action, a hands-on event with time for conversation and action-based programming.

WHEN:
Wednesday, April 9th
5:00 - 7:30pm

WHERE:
Maine Studio Works
170 Anderson Street in Portland

The event is FREE, but Preble Street is kindly asking everyone to pre-register. We hope to see you there!

Event Info and Tickets

Immigration Law & Policy Updates

ILAP is committed to helping our community make sense of immigration news and its impact. We have been sharing immigration law and policy developments every Friday since President Trump's inauguration through our Community Update emails and social media. Below is a summary of some key developments from the past week, as of March 28, 2025.

We know the Trump administration's anti-immigrant actions not only harm immigrant communities, they have ripple effects that negatively impact our entire country. We must make our opposition known now and continuously going forward. There is a long road ahead of us, but in community, we are strong.

PLEASE NOTE: All updates are subject to rapid change.

Immigration Announcement:

Trump administration announces it is revoking parole status for certain Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans

What It Means:

The administration announced that it is revoking immigration status for more than 500,000 people under the Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela (CHNV) parole program.
The CHNV program offered people fleeing life-threatening conditions in Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela a pathway to come to the United States on a temporary basis. To be eligible, people needed to have a sponsor in the U.S. who agreed to provide them with financial support should they need it, but the program gave people access to work permits so they could support themselves and their families. Once here, people could pursue other immigration options, if applicable.
This announcement will cause tremendous harm to individuals, lead to more family separation, and needlessly take hundreds of thousands of workers out of the workforce. ILAP’s full statement condemning this cruelty is here.

ILAP's full statement

Trump administration axes Department of Homeland Security immigration oversight branches

The Trump administration is eliminating three Department of Homeland Security (DHS) offices responsible for oversight – the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman, the Immigration Detention Ombudsman, and the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.
These oversight offices are responsible for addressing issues including abuse, discrimination, civil rights violations, helping the public resolve issues with USCIS and ICE, and more.
This move further erodes oversight and accountability within the federal government around immigration enforcement and case adjudication.

President Trump issues Executive Order “Preventing Abuses of the Legal System and the Federal Court”

The President issued an executive order threatening lawyers and law firms who challenge him in the courts.
Civil rights organizations, including those that challenge the Constitutionality and lawfulness of the president’s immigration actions, issued a statement calling out the President’s “dangerous tactic seeking to prevent the legal system from operating as an independent check on government authority.”

Deported people sent to third countries sue Trump administration

Four plaintiffs represented by National Immigration Litigation Alliance (NILA), Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP), and Human Rights First filed a class action lawsuit challenging the Department of Homeland Security’s cruel deportations of people to third countries.
One of the plaintiffs, O.C.G., who won protection from deportation to Guatemala, already has been deported to Mexico, even though he testified in court that he had been targeted and raped in Mexico.
The plaintiffs have asked the court for an emergency injunction to stop such deportations.

For previous updates from ILAP, check out the links below:

Community Update: March 21, 2025
Community Update: March 14, 2025
Community Update: March 7, 2025

Know Your Rights: Red Cards

As a reminder, all people living in the United States, regardless of immigration status, have certain rights and protections under the U.S. Constitution. Red Cards are small, two-sided cards that help people exercise these rights and protect themselves when interacting with immigration enforcement.

The Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) has templates in many languages to print Red Cards yourself. There are also local and national options to order professionally printed cards. Check out ILAP's Red Cards page to learn how to print and order these cards.

red card info

Congratulations to Arnie Macdonald!

ILAP extends our heartfelt congratulations to Arnie Macdonald for being selected for the 2025 Muskie Access to Justice Award, an annual award recognizing "outstanding individual efforts to promote access to justice in Maine."

A well-deserving honoree, Arnie is an ILAP Board member and long-time Pro Bono Panel attorney who is being recognized for his work helping more than 40 clients win asylum, among other accomplishments. You can read more about Arnie's work and impact here.

The award presentation will take place during this year's Muskie Access to Justice Award Ceremony on June 4th. Tickets are not yet on sale, but will be available soon! Be sure to mark the date on your calendar and check out muskiefund.org to learn more.

ILAP in the News

ILAP condemned the Trump administration’s detention of 17-year-old Jose Adalberto Herrera of Lewiston and called for his immediate release back to his family in the Bangor Daily News and Maine Public.

Executive Director Sue Roche explained the importance of Maine Rep. Ambureen Rana's proposed bill that would prohibit local and state law enforcement agencies from contracting with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the Bangor Daily News.

In a Maine Public story this month, Policy Director Lisa Parisio detailed the Trump administration’s attacks on humanitarian protections, including for those for Ukrainians who may soon have their legal status revoked.

ILAP community member Susan Payne wrote a Portland Press Herald Letter to the Editor encouraging people to donate to organizations like ILAP and the ACLU as a way to take action against attacks on democracy and human rights.

Executive Director Sue Roche was among four community leaders recognized with awards by Women United Around the World (WUAW) during the organization’s fashion show and gala earlier this month. The Portland Press Herald featured an event write up and photos from the evening.

ILAP's Sue Roche (left) standing with WUAW founder Adele Ngoy (middle) and the other awardees, Dr. Grace Valenzuela of Make It Happen!, Marcia Minter of Indigo Arts Alliance, and Jenn McAdoo of Furniture Friends. *Photo by* *Tsukroff Photography*.

Why Your Support Matters for the Future

Maine’s immigrant communities rely on ILAP for legal support, guidance, and advocacy. The need for these services continues to grow, and ensuring long-term sustainability is critical.

That’s where planned giving comes in. By making a legacy gift, you help secure ILAP’s future, ensuring that immigrants continue to have access to justice for years to come.

If you’re curious about how a legacy gift can fit into your plans, we’d love to talk—reach out to Marjorie Hankla at mhankla@ilapmaine.org.

Know Your Rights Resources

It is up to all of us to ensure we are only sharing good and verifiable information with our communities. Check out ILAP's reminders about preventing the spread of misinformation.

ILAP has updated our Know Your Rights page with trusted resources and links to more information. We encourage you to share these resources broadly.