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Dear MIRC Community,
Happy Friday! It’s been a hot week for most of us with this most recent heatwave. Most of us know this time instinctively as the “dog days of summer” (if you are sweating while reading this, I don’t blame you… my AC is working overtime!). But did you know why we call it the “dog days of summer”? It goes back to a phrase originating from ancient Roman times. The Romans noticed that the star called Sirius, the Dog Star, was in conjunction with the sun in late July. The ancient Romans believed the Dog Star’s brightness made things hotter on Earth during the late summer months. So they named the period diēs caniculārēs, or “days of the dog star,” which was later shortened to “dog days.” Before we head into the weekend with our new fun fact, let’s get on to the MIRC Advocacy Update:
| Local |
| Our friends at House of Languages have a couple of great opportunities coming up that may be of interest to folks. First is a 40-hour certificate training program for community interpreters, tuition is $650 per participant, but it does include official training materials. Additionally, they’re also hiring full-time and per-diem interpreters who speak Portuguese, Spanish, French, Lingala, Arabic, Cantonese, Mandarin, Haitian Creole, Kinyarwanda, and Somali. |
| RSU 21 announced the resignation of school board member Lesley Stoeffler at a meeting on Monday night. Stoeffler, who served as board chair in 2024, is the second board member to resign since July. Rachel Kennedy-Smith announced her resignation from the board late last month. |
| The Portland City Council will take up a potential increase to the city’s minimum wage and a proposal to remove a large coal pile in the West End at its second August meeting. |
| Though fewer international visitors are coming to Maine, and the number of cruise ship passengers in Bar Harbor has dropped off sharply this summer, Acadia National Park had its busiest month ever in July. |
| A proposed condo development in Belfast would be one of the largest new housing projects in the region. It would bring 200 condominium units in duplex and quadplex buildings, according to information presented to the Planning Board on Wednesday. |
| We were honored to have participated as exhibitors at the fourth annual Inclusion Maine conference. The three-day gathering is designed to help employers attract and retain a diverse workforce in a highly competitive job market. From moving speeches to great conversations, you can read more here (you may even see a familiar face!). |
| The City of Portland Clerk’s office is seeking volunteers to serve on various boards and committees, which all play an important role in Portland’s government. Residents can find the full board and committee descriptions, along with application directions, on the City’s website. The deadline to apply is Friday, September 5th, and applicants will be contacted for interviews.Interested applicants can apply:Online on the City’s websiteVia email to arand@portlandmaine.govVia mail, send resume and cover letter to: Appointments Committee Chairman, c/o City Clerk, 389 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101 |
| The Biddeford City Council race has commenced, with all nine seats up for grabs in the upcoming November election! This election season could bring about changes in Biddeford’s political landscape, as both new and seasoned candidates battle it out for the opportunity to join the council. |
| Speaking of Biddeford, the Biddeford Food Pantry received $35,000 in funding from the Biddeford City Council at an August 5th meeting. |
| State |
| Maine Family Planning filed a federal lawsuit last month to seek the restoration of reimbursements. The organization’s 18 clinics across the state provide essential services, including cervical cancer screenings, contraception, and primary care, to low-income residents. |
| Lincoln County has decided not to apply for a FEMA grant after the Trump administration added a requirement that recipients participate in federal immigration enforcement. The new grant language would have required local agencies to participate in joint operations with federal agents and detain immigrants at the request of federal officials. |
| Our friends at Equality Maine have been busy compiling data from their post-session record and have now published their 2025 Legislative Scorecard. The scorecard tracks how every lawmaker voted on specific legislation and broader proposals that would impact the LGBTQ+ community or that Equality Maine considers to align with their mission to create an inclusive, intersectional community to advance the rights of LGBTQ+ Mainers. |
| Maine Initiatives announced its Immigrant-Led Organizations (ILO) Fund 2025 Grantee Cohort. Of the ten groups added to the cohort this year, seven are members of our coalition: Gateway Community Services MaineMano en ManoIntercultural Community CenterLadder to the Moon NetworkMaine Afro Yoga ProjectUnited Youth Empowerment ServicesFood For All Services |
| We also wanted to share an update from the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future. In the past two days, Maine has seen a month or more of SNAP benefits electronically stolen from approximately 200 EBT cardholders. The organizations committing this theft are accessing the benefits as soon as they are loaded. OFI is taking steps to block what we can, but our options to block or replace these benefits are very limited. Issuance is continuing… we can expect some degree of theft to happen each day. Staff at OFI wanted to make sure that you all were aware of this theft and wanted to alert other agencies serving food-insecure Mainers that they can expect increased demand on their services this month”. |
| Federal |
| On behalf of National Partners for New Americans (NPNA), the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC), the National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA), and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC), we invite you to a community briefing on the ongoing developments regarding denaturalization. The information session will take place on August 27, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. ET. Registration Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_9JTp8-ZnR-y18q3TsbgyjQ |
| Federal data shows that U.S. immigration courts are on track to receive a record-breaking 1 million asylum applications this year, reports KJZZ. |
| NPR did a deep dive into the Chelmsford Immigration Court. From the number of justices dropping from 21 to 7, to delays, the article does a great job at providing us with an inside view of a court that many of us work with. Read the full article here. |
| ICE’s total detained population has reached its highest verifiable point in several years, with a little over 59,000 people held in detention as of August 10. This marks a significant increase over several weeks of fairly static numbers, but it’s probably still nowhere close to where the Trump administration hopes to be when it finally gets its hands on the billions of dollars Congress allocated for expanding immigrant detention in the coming months and years. |
| There is now a way for folks to pay for their work permit. After new fees were implemented, the mechanism for payment was not yet created. You can pay the fee with a money order, personal check, cashier’s check, or pay by credit card or debit card using Form G-1450, Authorization for Credit Card Transactions. If you pay by check, you must make your check payable to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. More information here. Additionally:How much does it cost to apply for an initial work permit as an asylum seeker?How much does it cost to renew a work permit as an asylum seeker?USCIS: G-1055, Fee Schedule & Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization |
| Shockingly, I have good news for once! On July 31, 2025, the judge granted the plaintiffs’ motion and ordered that the TPS terminations for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua cannot go into effect at least until November 18, 2025. That order is available here. You can also find an FAQ in English, Spanish, and Nepali, along with a letter for the DMV (BMV here in Maine), should one be needed. Additionally, Letters regarding the extension of employment authorizationLetter to employers regarding status of work authorization for TPS holders from Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua (August 4, 2025) Letter to employers regarding status of Venezuelan TPS holder work authorization (June 29, 2025) |
| Children discussed immigration concerns in a summer leadership program by TODEC, a legal center serving immigrants in California, reports Kate Sequeira of the Los Angeles Times. The serious tone of the annual camp shows the impact of the recent immigration shift, Sequeira notes. Meanwhile, Sonia Baker of the Nevada Current reports on the serious long-term implications of ICE raids on learning outcomes, mental health, and public school funding. |
| NBC News reported that new guidance issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services made a change to its policy manual stating that federal immigration authorities may begin removal proceedings for those seeking legal status through a spouse or other relative. |
| If you want to learn how the mass deportations are being translated into actions against citizens, States Newsroom via Maine Morning Star helps us connect the dots in this indepth article. |
| The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 Tuesday that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) can access sensitive federal data at the Treasury Department, Education Department, and Office of Personnel Management, including Social Security numbers and individuals’ citizenship status. The decision vacated a February preliminary injunction that had blocked DOGE from accessing these records. |
| President Donald Trump’s tax and spending law will result in less income for the poorest Americans while sending money to the richest, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported Monday. |
| The Deportation Data Project released new figures yesterday covering ICE enforcement activities through the end of July, obtained through their ongoing Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against Immigration and Customs Enforcement. This data provides an updated picture of immigration enforcement trends that builds on previous analysis of ICE arrest patterns. The latest data shows that overall arrest numbers decreased between June and July, marking a notable month-to-month decline. However, these figures remain elevated when viewed against the recent historical context, indicating that immigration enforcement continues at levels significantly higher than previous periods. This is Part 5 of a multi-part series on ICE data made public by the Deportation Data Project. If you haven’t yet, you may want to read Part 1 (or listen), Part 2, Part 3, or Part 4 before diving into this analysis. |
As one of my favorite Maine sayings goes: Jeezum Crow! That was a lot of news to cover! While we try our best to cover most of the news and stories from our Coalition, I probably missed some. Please feel free to share any highlights I missed, and you may see them featured in the next edition of our updates.
Before we head off to the weekend, don’t forget to be a friend and tell a friend something nice; it could change their life!
Best,
Ruben Torres
Advocacy and Policy Manager