For Maine Businesses, New Work Permit Rules Create Uncertainty
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 9, 2025
CONTACT: Leidy Perez, WorkPermits.US, info@workpermits.US
PORTLAND, ME — Today, the Maine Chamber of Commerce, Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project (ILAP) of Maine, WorkPermits.US and Luke’s Lobster spoke out about recent and upcoming federal changes to work authorization that could harm Maine’s workforce and economy.
In 2013, Luke's Lobster, the popular national lobster roll restaurant group with operations across the United States opened its seafood purchasing and production business in Maine. The facility serves as the central hub for the company’s national and international supply chain, sourcing, processing and shipping Maine lobster and crab to its restaurants as well as its online and grocery store distribution.
Recent proposed rules by the Department of Homeland Security would limit asylum seekers’ access to work permits, making it harder for immigrants already in the authorized workforce to stay employed in the U.S. The proposals, which would make it harder for asylum applicants to work in the United States legally, could create uncertainty for Luke’s Lobster’s ability to sustain the company’s current supply chain, and threaten its ability to meet its growth goals.
“Seafood processing businesses depend on workers from immigrant communities to do critical jobs in the supply chain,” said Ben Conniff, co-founder of Luke’s Lobster during a recent press call discussing the proposed federal rules. “There is already a massive workforce shortage here in Maine, and the government’s proposed new work permit rules for asylum seekers would seriously harm the seafood industry. Maine seafood producers would lose productivity and revenue and may have to close altogether, and this would directly reduce the amount our fishermen get paid at the dock. Actions that harm immigrant workers will harm everyone in our state.”
The proposed rule is said to indefinitely halt work permit processing based on a pending asylum application and increase the waiting period for an initial work permit from 6 months to 1 year. If the administration stops processing work permit renewal applications, employees will not receive their new work permits before their old work permits expire. These rules could affect up to 3 million asylum seekers, including children, across the country.
“Maine is experiencing one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country and employers across the state are struggling to expand with a limited workforce. We need to support our entire workforce to reach the state’s economic potential and broad elimination of this authorized workforce would cost us in economic growth and state tax revenues,” said Patrick Woodcock, President & CEO of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce.
Recent and upcoming changes could force more than 30,000 immigrants currently working in Maine across different industries out of the workforce. Currently, around 4.6% of Maine’s workforce is made up of immigrants and having them taken out of their jobs could create a significant barrier for Maine’s businesses who are already facing difficulties filling the 33,000 jobs that remain vacant in the state.
According to the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project (ILAP), the harm of the administration’s TPS and parole terminations and other work permit changes will extend beyond the economy. Speaking about the administration’s recent rule ending work permit automatic extensions, Lisa Parisio, ILAP’s Policy Director said: “Maine residents will lose their jobs, struggle to meet basic needs, and families will be destabilized. For people experiencing domestic violence, access to a work permit can mean access to safety. In addition to being completely foreseeable, these consequences are also unnecessary. There is no legitimate public policy reason to strip away work authorization from people who have a right to work under our laws and have done everything the federal government asked of them. The general, commonsense idea that immigrants who want to work should be able to has broad and bipartisan support here in Maine.”
Maine’s workforce shortage has been developing over the past decade as demographic shifts and the baby boomer generation began to retire. Unfilled jobs hit their highest point during the global pandemic where Maine lost 50,000 jobs, but in the years since, have not stabilized. The state currently needs an additional 2,000 healthcare workers to bridge current care gaps, 3,000 workers are needed in the manufacturing sector and seasonal businesses in hospitality and tourism struggle to fill roles. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Maine’s worker shortage is rated as “more severe” with only 68 available workers for every 100 jobs.
“Any proposed change to further increase processing delays or make it harder for individuals with pending cases to obtain a work permit will make it harder for businesses in Maine and the rest of the country to grow,” said Cristina Moreno, Policy Counsel for WorkPermits.US. “Prolonged waiting periods introduce more red tape to the work permit process. Businesses cannot quickly hire employees who are eligible to work legally in the U.S. Individuals cannot quickly find work and make a living. All of this hurts local communities, especially in Maine.”
While the proposed rule that will limit work permits for asylum seekers cleared final review in November, it would not go into effect right away. The federal government needs to take several more steps before it is put into place. The rule first needs to be published in the Federal Register and then the public will be invited to submit a comment on it. That process is expected to begin sometime between now and January. Until then, Maine’s immigrant communities and businesses will have to wait and see.
A recording of the virtual press webinar is available HERE.