Each year, we are featured by dozens of local, regional, and national outlets on what changes to immigration laws and policies mean and how they impact Maine’s immigration communities. You can read our recent coverage below.
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Maine immigration advocates warned that hundreds of people living in Maine to escape wars, gang violence and natural disasters would have faced deportation within weeks had the administration terminated their legal protections.
Guests included volunteers, staff, board members, legislators and partner organizations such as Equality Community Center, Greater Portland Health, Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project and Maine Needs. Elements of the event resembled a rally, with the Ideal Maine Social Aid & Sanctuary Band playing marching tunes and hundreds of people chanting “Justice for All.
The governor postponed her decision on a bill restricting local authorities from carrying out federal immigration enforcement until next year. Meanwhile, daily U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest rates have doubled in Maine since President Donald Trump took office, new data show.
ICE has arrested about 100 people in Maine since Trump took office, according to statistics released by the Deportation Data Project that shine new light on the agency's operations. That's a roughly 50% increase in the average daily arrest rate, compared to 2024.
The first time I saw the American flag, I was nine years old. My family and I were at the Pakistan–Afghanistan border, preparing to return to Afghanistan after years of fleeing the Taliban and living in exile.
President Trump's efforts to terminate legal protections for Haitians in the U.S. could impact hundreds of people in Maine, according to immigrant rights groups.
This year, the Harward Center awarded grants of $16,322.50 to five community organizations that support refugees and asylum seekers: Maine Immigrant and Refugee Services, Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, Asylum Seekers Resettlement Program, St. Mary’s Nutrition Center, and Trinity Jubilee Center.
Luis, an Ecuadorian asylum seeker who owns a contracting company in Maine, said he was on his way to a job in the town of Oxford in early April when he was involved in a minor traffic accident.
Luis, who asked to be identified only by his first name given his ongoing immigration case, said an Oxford police officer checked his license and insurance information, and asked for the address of the jobsite he was headed to.
Advocates say immigration officials are moving people detained in Maine far from the state, making it hard for their loved ones to keep up.
A benefit concert called “Peace Love and Understanding Through Song and Action” has been organized by Stonington resident Geoff Warner for Saturday, June 14, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the First Congregational Church of Blue Hill, 22 Tenney Hill Road. According to Warner, the title is inspired by Nick Lowe’s song What’s So Funny ‘Bout Peace Love and Understanding.
It’s been nearly six months since President Donald Trump took office, and among the whirlwind of new policies and executive orders was a series of new stances on immigration that to date have created a culture of fear among immigrants in Maine, according to the people who work with them.
ILAP and the ACLU of Maine have each filed separate habeas corpus petitions in federal court, challenging the detention of their individual clients by federal immigration authorities. Executive Director Sue Roche highlights the importance of a related bill currently being considered by the Maine Legislature.
