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.
Members of the press may submit their inquires to press@ilapmaine.org.
After eight years of waiting for the federal government to schedule a hearing for his case, a father seeking asylum in Maine was instead detained, thrusting him into hostile court proceedings with limited opportunities for appeal.
The large-scale immigration operation in January revealed a weakness in state law that some lawmakers are hoping to address by amending legislation to protect the personal information of Maine renters.
While the intense surge of immigration enforcement ended in late January, ICE activity continues in Maine. We find out about recent arrests, what has happened to those who were detained earlier, and whether immigrant communities are still living in fear. We’ll also learn about policy and legal action to curtail enforcement in Maine.
A representative from the Maine Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project warned lawmakers that tenants face increasing risks regardless of their immigration status, pointing to a number of recently exposed cases of unlawful detentions.
“In relationships where there are power dynamics, including landlord and tenant, weaponizing ICE is not new,” Policy Director Lisa Parisio testified during the hearing. “But in this environment, the stakes and human consequences are at their highest.”
News outlets, civil rights groups, and court records tell a much different story than the government's claims about "Operation Catch of the Day.
Many of the Maine residents arrested during an immigration enforcement operation last month were processed at a facility in Massachusetts that attorneys warn has deplorable conditions and is not set up for extended detention.
Lawyers say it has become harder to locate detainees arrested and flown out of New England since ICE’s recent enforcement surge.
It was quiet at the Grace African & Caribbean Food Mart on Main Street in Westbrook Tuesday afternoon. The store had not seen any customers all day, and only one person came in the day before.
We find out about the status of the Immigration & Customs Enforcement presence in Maine. What has changed since Senator Susan Collins announced that the increased ICE operations were stopping? More than 200 people were detained during the surge of arrests. Where are they now? What are lawmakers doing? And how are communities faring?
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins announced Thursday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has ended its immigration crackdown in Maine, but in communities that have been gripped by fear and uncertainty for more than a week, the news was met with caution and skepticism, not celebration. “In the current environment, with the federal government flagrantly disregarding due process and attempting to indiscriminately deport as many people as they can, having your attorney by your side during any ICE appointment is beyond critical,” Roche said in a written statement.
