Dear MIRC Community,
Welcome to Friday! One day, your author walked into his high school world history teacher’s room ready to learn, when little did he know he was going to learn about the Cuban Missile Crisis from someone who lived through it. And so, I bring to you a mini history lesson from Mr. Heitz’s classroom to your inbox: On October 17, President John F. Kennedy received the first conclusive U-2 photographs showing Soviet nuclear missile sites on the island, a revelation that would test the limits of his leadership and the resolve of his administration. Rather than yielding to calls for immediate air strikes or invasion, Kennedy pursued a strategy of measured strength by imposing a naval blockade and opening channels for negotiation. His ability to balance pressure with diplomacy not only averted nuclear war but redefined global leadership, showing that true power lies in restraint, foresight, and the courage to choose peace over destruction.
With that lesson in leadership, let’s get on to the MIRC Advocacy Update:
| Local |
| Biddeford mayoral candidates Liam LaFountain, Norman Belanger, and Martin Grohman spoke with the Portland Press Herald on what they plan to do should they be elected and what they view as the biggest issues around town. Read the full breakdown here. |
| Windham will also be voting on candidates for three of the seven seats on its town council in November, with two each running for Windham North and South, and three running for an at-large seat. Read about their priorities here. It will be a busy ballot, so make sure to catch up on what School Board candidates are saying. |
| Annual District Meetings kicked off on Thursday, 10/16, with District 1. The rest of the meetings follow in October and November. All meetings are in-person and begin at 6:00 PM. Visit the City of Portland’s website to learn about your district and find the full details. Mayor Dion, City Councilors, City Manager Danielle West, and City staff will be available to discuss neighborhood issues and answer questions from the public. These meetings are a perfect opportunity to provide feedback and discuss the issues that matter to you in our city. Free childcare will be available for kids ages 5-12! Pre-registration is not required, but helpful for our team. |
| Just Futures Law and Detention Watch Network will be hosting a Digital Security 101 training. In this online training, they will review digital security risks for communities targeted by ICE surveillance and share tips to keep our communities and our organizing safe, online and offline. This is a beginner-level digital security training for organizers and advocates working for immigrant rights. Register here by 10/27 |
| The Portland Press Herald looked into the partnership between community resource liaisons and police officers across 12 municipalities. “Ultimately, this role contributes to safer, more resilient communities where residents experiencing behavioral health challenges are met with understanding, effective care, and long-term pathways to recovery, benefiting not just those individuals in crisis, but the overall well-being of Cumberland County as a whole,”. Read more about the program, how the ending of ARPA money (sound familiar?) impacted the program in some areas. |
| The town of Falmouth is once again offering grants to social services providers whose mission is to meet the needs of any Falmouth resident whose safety or health is at risk, including support for trauma response, domestic violence response, food insecurity, counseling, mental health and substance use treatment, dental health, refugee services, transportation, senior services, disability services, home health, and end-of-life care. A total of $40,000 will be awarded to area organizations, which do not need to be based in Falmouth as long as they provide services to Falmouth residents. |
| Please consider joining We Are All America’s Leadership Development Program’s upcoming webinar titled “Public Speaking and Enhancing Influence Through Connection”. The session will provide strategies to overcome public speaking anxiety, refine delivery, and navigate biases against accents. Attendees will learn techniques to improve body language, enhance their influence, and connect with diverse audiences. You can secure your spot here! |
| The Community Sponsorship Hub, in coordination with IIE and supported by ECAR and the Presidents’ Alliance, has launched the Higher Education Access Program for Students of Refugee Background. This initiative allows eligible students who arrived in the U.S. as refugees or SIV holders after January 1, 2021, to pursue undergraduate degrees at partner institutions. Selected applicants will receive tuition coverage, mentorship, academic placement support, and campus guidance. Apply for Higher Ed Access for Refugee Students by October 22. |
| The City Council of Bangor voted down a resolve that would have stated in writing that any potential agreement with outside law enforcement agencies would have to go through official channels, including discussion with the city manager, in City Council committee meetings, and give residents the chance to weigh in. The final vote was 5-3. |
| State |
| The Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee will be having a work session where they will hear from Sara Gagne-Holmes, Commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services, on the fiscal, administrative, and program impacts of recent federal legislation on the Maine Department of Health and Human Services at 1:30. You can watch live here (you may even spot your author!) |
| With the guiding document for educating students who aren’t proficient in English quietly repealed this summer, and education budget cuts, Maine schools still find themselves struggling to serve the needs of students with multilingual backgrounds. During the last school year, about 4.7% of Maine’s total student population, more than 8,000 students, were multilingual learners. |
| If you receive SNAP benefits, you may need to report your work, volunteer, or training hours to maintain your food assistance. These changes are due to updated SNAP work reporting requirements. Our friends at MEJ have revised their guide if you need more information. |
| Graffiti tagging white supremacist markings was spotted in Bangor. The graffiti comes after the white supremacist group Patriot Front was spotted in Bangor last month. It’s unclear whether the two incidents are directly related, but both point to a continued presence of white supremacist actors in Maine. |
| Our friends at COA are hosting a community forum on Question 2, the referendum concerning Maine’s Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO), also known as the “Red Flag Law.” If you are interested in participating in this in-person forum, it will be on Friday, October 17th, 4:30 pm – 6 pm at 155 Lisbon St, Lewiston. Please register here. |
| Our friends at MECEP have released a new report that argues that Maine’s future prosperity is inseparable from justice for the Wabanaki Nations. The report highlights how centuries of land seizures, denial of sovereignty, and broken partnerships have not only harmed the Wabanaki but also held back rural Maine’s economy. |
| Federal |
| The Trump administration plans to set a record-low refugee cap of 7,500 admissions for the fiscal year that began last week and to prioritize white South Africans of Afrikaner descent. This past fiscal year’s “ceiling” was 125,000 (7,500 would be a 94% decrease), and the lowest cap Trump set during his first term was 15,000. Our friends at CWS have put together a sign-on letter if you would like to take action or learn more. |
| Curious about what’s on the docket for SCOTUS this term? SCOTUSBlog has put together the cases that have upcoming oral arguments and those still waiting for a date to be set. |
| Cook County’s top judge has signed an order barring ICE from arresting people at courthouses. The order, which was signed Tuesday night and took effect Wednesday, bars the civil arrest of any “party, witness, or potential witness” while going to court proceedings. It includes arrests made inside courthouses and in parking lots, surrounding sidewalks and entryways. |
| Our friends at The American Immigration Council recently published a fact sheet that explains the history of worksite raids, the agencies involved, the legal authorities relied upon by these agencies to conduct raids, related legal challenges, and the economic and humanitarian consequences of worksite raids. |
| ICE is now looking to hire analysts to comb through the social media profiles of immigrants and justify deportations. |
| Catholic Charities of the Central Coast, which serves Monterey, Santa Cruz (your author’s hometown!), and San Luis Obispo counties, will receive 1.5 million to strengthen legal services! |
| The folks over at CLINC have put together a great resource for legal service providers to have a better understanding of what clients will need to do to meet the new acceptable form of payment for immigration cases. This practice pointer will help immigration legal service providers prepare for the upcoming change by detailing how to make electronic payments and warning of the pitfalls that can lead to USCIS rejecting an application for lack of payment. |
| After calling for the military to use American cities as “training grounds for our military”, Chicago, Los Angeles, and other cities; The Gaurdian reports how Immigration enforcement has used military tactics and hardware on everyday people. From flashbangs at their feet to boots on the roof, read the full report here. |
| In case you missed it: Governor Janet Mills officially declared her race for Maines Senate seat in 2026. |
| The Department of Homeland Security has furloughed its entire Office of Detention Oversight, which conducts mandatory annual inspections of detention centers, creating a significant oversight gap the population of detained immigrants continues rising. |
Well, you can’t say I didnt leave you without reading material to head into the weekend with! If you are looking for something else to chew on, it also so happens to be National Pizza Month! Celebrate with a slice of your favorite pie and feel free to share where your favorite slice can be found! Which speaking of, 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