Extending Trusted Legal Support to Rural Communities

Rural Community Liaison Lourdes Trujillo (second from left) with Maine partners at conference this fall.

The Rural Maine Project (RMP) spent the summer crisscrossing Maine, bringing legal services directly to where immigrants are living and working. The RMP team shared translated materials with the Arabic-speaking community in Augusta, offered support during community events in Milbridge, visited farms to distribute information to agricultural workers, and more.

Along the way, our staff met with many living in rural Maine who were struggling with the in-person requirements for immigration court hearings. The closest court is in Massachusetts, which “represents a major challenge for our rural communities that lack resources, do not have vehicles or access to driver’s licenses,” explains Rural Community Liaison Lourdes Trujillo. The barriers are high and so are the stakes: a missed hearing, for any reason, can result in a deportation order.

To ensure people avoid the consequences of missed hearings, the RMP has been helping submit the required motions to request virtual hearings, as well as guiding clients through the process of attending these hearings.

Lourdes also traveled outside of Maine this fall, attending a peer-to-peer training event focused on outreach and training strategies in Washington, D.C.

Securing Protections for Maine’s Haitian Community

The U.S. government announced the extension and redesignation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti at the end of June. ILAP joined advocates across the country in celebrating this life-saving decision and immediately got to work helping Haitian communities in Maine secure the related protections and benefits.

The TPS extension provided the opportunity for current TPS holders to receive continued protection and the redesignation expanded protection to people who more recently arrived to the U.S. from Haiti.

The deadline to renew Haiti TPS applications was August 30, 2024, giving current TPS holders just two months to file renewal applications to ensure continued protections and benefits. Between July 1st and the end of August, ILAP helped 101 Haitians in Maine file TPS and work permit applications!

This work happened across the state and throughout ILAP’s many programs, from clinics in our Portland office led by the Forms Program to meetings with clients at ILAP’s Lewiston office. The Rural Maine Project also connected and shared important information about TPS with communities of Haitian agricultural workers throughout Washington County.

ILAP is now working with Haitians who are newly eligible for TPS apply for the first time. New applicants must apply before February 3, 2026.

—> For more information about Haiti TPS and how to get legal help: ilapmaine.org/ilap-news/haiti-tps-2024.