Legal News & Advocacy
VICTORY! Maine Becomes 19th State to Establish an Office of New Americans
After years of advocacy efforts from immigrant communities and the work of government champions, Maine will become the 19th state in the country to have an Office of New Americans - a state-level agency providing resources and coordination to welcome, support, and integrate new immigrants.
ILAP was a staunch advocate to establish the office. “Our state, our community, and our workforce is built on individuals. This is the time to invest in each other and unlock Maine’s potential,” said Policy Director Lisa Parisio. ILAP looks forward to supporting and partnering with Maine’s Office of New Americans.
This state-level infrastructure is crucial in building a stronger Maine where communities can come together, access resources, join the workforce, and thrive. The formal establishment and funding for the Office will go into effect later this summer.
TAKE ACTION
Thank the Mills Administration for establishing an Office of New Americans in Maine!
Visit https://www.maine.gov/governor/mills/contact/share-your-opinion to submit your comment.
#LetAsylumSeekersWork Campaign Secures Crucial Work Permit Extensions
ILAP joined the Let Asylum Seekers Work campaign in calling on U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to automatically extend work permits to ensure hardworking immigrants and their employers are not left stranded when work permits expire without new ones arriving in time due to government delays.
Advocates successfully secured these extensions, expected to benefit 800,000 immigrants. “This work permit extension is great news for me and for so many other asylum seekers and immigrants!” said Anar Boldbaatar, an asylum seeker from Mongolia and member of the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP), an organization leading this advocacy.
Looking Ahead: Election Year 2024
As election season heats up, the politicization of the lives and rights of immigrants is on the rise too. ILAP recently joined 150+ organizations calling on Congressional leaders to condemn anti-immigrant, extremist language.
“Again and again, experts and researchers have shown that dehumanization is connected to, and a precondition for, discrimination, oppression, violence, and, in extreme cases, murder or even genocide of an outgroup,” the letter reads.
The letter seeks to hold elected officials accountable for racist, anti-immigrant language by demanding Congressional leaders denounce the use of dehumanizing rhetoric.
Consequences of Rushing Cases Through an Unjust System: Learning from the Dedicated Docket
Backlogs in the immigration system are frustrating, undermine due process, and can even be deadly. Yet attempts to speed up or fast track immigration processes without addressing the underlying injustices and systemic flaws of the immigration system can come with even more harmful effects, as evidenced by the “Dedicated Docket” policy.
The Dedicated Docket, introduced by the Biden administration in 2021, imposed a much faster processing timeline for some asylum seekers. “The Dedicated Docket continues to amplify the lack of due process and basic fairness that families experience in our immigration court system,” reads an advocacy letter to the Department of Justice signed by 75+ organizations, including ILAP.
Three years in, this policy has failed to reduce backlogs while severely limiting access to justice for those most in need of protection. In 2022, the national asylum grant rate for individuals on the Dedicated Docket was 28%, compared to 52% for those in regular asylum proceedings.
“This is because the Dedicated Docket focuses specifically on limiting the one thing that immigrants need: time,” observes Paula Esteves, a recent University of Maine School of Law graduate who worked as an extern with ILAP’s Asylum Assistance and Legal Orientation Project (AALOP). “Policies should focus on immigration reform, not mass deportation.”
Despite clear learnings from the Dedicated Docket, the Biden administration is continuing to pursue policies that severely threaten asylum rights. Biden announced two new policies this spring, both of which further erode due process rights, limit access to counsel, and permit faster deportations. As the Dedicated Docket policy made clear, rushing people through an unjust process only leads to unjust outcomes, leaving those most in need of safety and protection without access to justice.
“It is both possible and necessary to welcome people with dignity,” reminds Executive Director Sue Roche. “ILAP remains steadfast in our support of asylum seekers and the legal right to seek asylum.”
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Did you know?
The basic steps of preparing an asylum application takes an estimated minimum of 50 to 75 hours, a timeline often complicated by factors including detention, language barriers, and navigating trauma.
Learn more with AILA’s High-Stakes Asylum report.