During the last week of June, the Supreme Court issued three major immigration decisions on Temporary Protected Status, Asylum, and Birthright Citizenship. Each ruling will impact Maine immigrants, including one that paves the way for the federal administration to terminate Temporary Protected Status for 1.3 million people across the country.
Read More“We continue to see the majority of arrests are of Maine residents in lawful immigration processes with no criminal record,” said Lisa Parisio, policy director of the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project.
Read MoreLisa Parisio, policy director of Maine’s Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, added, “Unfortunately, in this environment, intimidation and aggressive tactics are what ICE does.”
Read MorePresident Donald Trump’s administration announced Tuesday it would end temporary protected status for Somali immigrants, a move that looks to have a limited immediate effect in Maine.
Read MoreThe Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project has heard this fear from clients firsthand.
“People are afraid to leave their homes. They are afraid to go to work. They’re afraid to be on the roadways. They are afraid to send their children to school,” Parisio said. “They’re afraid to call the police for help in any situation, whether that’s protection from domestic violence, coming forward about labor exploitation and trafficking, serving as witnesses in criminal cases.”
Read MoreThe Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project confirmed to Maine Morning Star that its clients have been denied the right to have their attorneys present at appointments at the field office over the past few months, including during check-in appointments for people who are in immigration court proceedings. Arrests at such proceedings have been reported elsewhere across the country.
Read More“This informal assistance is the vast majority of the immigration assistance that we are seeing here in the state,” said Lisa Parisio. There is no centralized tracking method for seeing the full extent of these incidents, according to Parisio.
Read MoreThe Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project confirmed to Maine Morning Star that its clients have been denied the right to have their attorneys present at appointments at the field office over the past few months, including during check-in appointments for people who are in immigration court proceedings. Arrests at such proceedings have been reported elsewhere across the country.
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