Want to see these updates directly in you email inbox? Let us know.
Dear MIRC Community,
Welcome to Friday! Thought you’d make it to the weekend without our edition of the MIRC Advocacy Updates? Well think again! It wasn’t until I entered this job that I fully came to understand the meaning of the phrase “There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen,” but boy does it feel like it has been a busy one. For starters many of us entered yesterday with a moment of reflection of how much our world has changed since September 11th 2001.
We were also hit with news that a sample obtained by NASA’s Perseverance rover of reddish rock, formed billions of years ago from sediment on the bottom of a lake, contains potential signs of ancient microbial life on Mars.
And for those looking for a conversation starter this weekend: the current 2025 MLB season is experiencing an unusually long drought without a no-hitter, the last time an MLB season made it without a “no – no” was 2005.
With that, let’s get on to the MIRC Advocacy Update:
| Local |
| We are excited to be hosting (and hope to see many of you there!) our annual Maine Immigration Forum! The Maine Immigration Forum (MiF) serves as a beacon of celebration and recognition for immigrant communities across the state. The theme of MiF’s second year: “Embracing our Diverse Roots, Cultivating our Future in Maine.” Learn, connect, and be part of the conversation at Halo On The Point, in Portland, Maine, September 18, 2025. REGISTER HERE. |
| Join our friends at MECEP for a no-nonsense breakdown of how new federal budget law will impact Maine. They’ll give an overview of what’s in the bill, what’s at stake for your wallet, your health care, and your job — and what Maine can do to lessen the sting. Bring your questions, your lunch, and your voice. They’ll be taking live questions via chat! WHEN: Wednesday, September 24 | 12:00 p.m. (bring your lunch!)WHERE: Virtual via Zoom |
| Unidentified law enforcement agents detained a parent outside Talbot Community School after they dropped their child off at the school in Portland on Thursday, the district’s superintendent said in a letter to the school community. |
| As students head back to school The Humanity Herald can be a great resource for those looking for scholarships to help manage the costs of education. More information and list of scholarships can be found here. |
| Reports of a tuberculosis (TB) outbreak at one of Portland shelters are false. The Maine CDC has confirmed with City staff that it has not suggested any changed protocols for the shelter on Riverside Industrial Parkway, and is not aware of any TB outbreak at the shelter at this time. Additional information can be found on the Maine CDC website, as they have the mandate for epidemiological surveillance and outbreak response. |
| The Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians’ 45th Annual Metaksonekiyak Community Days celebration drew more than 650. The annual celebration, Metaksonekiyak Community Days, honors the long and storied history of the region’s native people. |
| The Falmouth Planning Board unanimously granted Scittery Woods Partners LLC the final approval of the Marshall Drive project on Tuesday. The development, located next to the police station, includes 13 townhouse structures consisting of 48 two-bedroom units. Each unit will be listed for $425,000, less than half of the median listing price in Falmouth last year. |
| Welcoming America and the American Immigration Council invite you to submit your application to the Gateways for Growth Challenge, a year-long opportunity to strengthen your community’s immigrant inclusion efforts. This program offers practical, no-cost support to help local leaders create more resilient, inclusive communities. Coalitions that include local governments, nonprofits, chambers of commerce, and community-based organizations are especially encouraged to apply. |
| Its a crowded field as Seven Presque Isle residents are vying for two open City Council seats this November. Read more about the candidates and their campaigns here. Similarly the Ellsworth City Council is likely to get three new members this fall. Seven people, none of them incumbents, filed candidacy papers by Monday’s deadline. |
| State |
| The Waldo County Democratic Committee (WCDC) will host the Democratic Candidates for Governor Forum on September 14, 2025, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at Mount View High School, 577 Mount View Road, Thorndike, ME 04986. Seating will be first come, first served. Doors will open at 1:15pm. More information here. |
| Last Tuesday, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Hannah Pingree kicked off a statewide listening tour about the challenges and possible solutions to expanding access to affordable housing in Maine. During the event, Pingree said housing needs to be a “top issue” for whoever becomes the next governor. |
| The Maine Department of Labor announced on September 11th that effective January 1, 2026, the state minimum wage will increase from $14.65 to $15.10 per hour, based on data recently made available by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. The state minimum wage now also pertains to agricultural workers in Maine, after the Legislature enacted and Governor Mills signed ‘An Act to Establish a State Minimum Hourly Wage for Agricultural Workers’ in June. |
| As Maine students return to campuses and schools against a backdrop of changing federal laws, increasing immigration enforcement and national scrutiny of the state’s inclusive policies, local rights groups (shoutout to our friends from the ACLU and Equality Maine) partnered to release a guide to ensure students know their rights. Read more here. |
| The Portland Press Herald highlighted the story of brother calling the police to help his brother who was drowning only for it to lead to Oxford and Scarborough police calling ICE. Read the full story here. The Marshall Project recently put out an article explaining how encounters with the police can lead to ICE arrests. |
| Immigrants have always been opening new buisness’ that serve the needs of the community they live in. The Portland Press Herald took a deep dive into how immigrant owners are shaping and preserving the variety stores and markets across Maine. Read the full story here. |
| The Maine Bureau of Insurance announced steep increases in 2026 health insurance premiums for more than 100,000 Maine people on Thursday, prompting Gov. Janet Mills to ask Congress to extend a tax credit to insulate people from those higher costs. |
| LD 1932, a direct care bill sponsored by Speaker Ryan Fecteau and carried over from the first legislative session, gives Maine a big chance to keep caregivers, protect access to care, and bring in millions in federal funds.Click here to read more from MECEP policy analyst Arthur Phillips. |
| As a result of the budget bill recently passed, adult Medicaid enrollees must prove they’re working, volunteering, or attending school to remain eligible for insurance. Older adults, caregivers, and parents of children 14 and older must work while balancing care for themselves or others. This will impact an estimated 90,000 adults in MaineCare, Maine’s Medicaid program. Maine Department of Health and Human Services officials predict over 31,000 Mainers could lose insurance in the first year due to eligibility hurdles. |
| Friendly reminder for eligible voters: Absentee ballots can now be requested online for the November 4, 2025 State Referendum and General municipal election. To learn more about other ways to request your ballot, please visit our Absentee Voting Information webpage. Ballots will be sent out once they are ready in October. |
| Federal |
| Immigration enforcement officers no longer have to fill out a form with details about their target and operation and get a supervisor’s approval, reports a team at NBC News. |
| After the Trump Administration requested intervention, the Supreme Court lifted a lower court decision that banned immigration stops based on four factors: racial profiling, use of Spanish, type of labor being conducted, and anyone’s presence in a location known for a migrant population. Immigration officials can now conduct stops and raids based on these factors and immigration agents can continue to employ “roving patrols”. The vote was 6-3, along ideological lines. News sources are already reporting an increase in arrests and sweeps across Southern California. The American Immigration Council has a good overview with video! |
| A federal immigration appeals board ruled last Friday that undocumented immigrants are ineligible for bond hearings while they challenge their deportation proceedings in court. The decision affirms a July order from Todd M. Lyons, acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Immigration lawyers say the ruling applies to millions of immigrants who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border during the past few decades. Previously, immigrants had generally been allowed to request a bond hearing before an immigration judge. |
| U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), will add its own law enforcement agents who can carry weapons and make arrests, the Trump administration announced. This is a major change for the agency that has been kept separate from immigration arrests and enforcing deportations. USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said the special agents will look for fraud in applications and could arrest suspected immigrants or lawyers. |
| The Congressional Budget Office estimates that, as a result of the administration’s crackdown on immigration, the U.S. population first will grow more slowly, and shrink sooner, than previously anticipated. This could cause a workforce shortage, higher prices and a crisis in eldercare, experts warn. |
| Yesterday, a federal judge in Arizona blocked the federal government from deporting dozens of Guatemalan and Honduran children, report Jacques Billeaud and Morgan Lee of the Associated Press. The judge expressed concerns that the government had not arranged for any of the children’s legal guardians to take custody once they left the U.S. |
| A federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked Trump administration restrictions on services for undocumented immigrants, including the federal preschool program Head Start, health clinics, and adult education. The ruling applies to 20 states and the District of Columbia, which are represented by their respective attorneys general, who sued the administration. The restrictions are on hold until the case is decided. |
| Labor unions representing millions of educators and school employees are suing the Trump administration over its immigration crackdown, saying arrests near school campuses are terrorizing children and teachers, leading some students to drop out. The Trump administration is currently allowing arrests at schools, which is a departure from previous policy that considered schools a protected area that was off-limits to immigration enforcement. The educators are joining a lawsuit filed by an Oregon farmworkers union and a group of churches challenging the decision to open houses of worship to immigration enforcement. |
| According to the latest detention data released on Thursday, ICE is currently officially holding 58,766 people in one of 187 facilities across the country, as well as many potentially more in unmarked facilities and holding rooms. This number represents a decline from two weeks prior, when the agency reported a record high detained population of 61,226 people. However, the recent Supreme Court’s authorization of racial profiling (our second story under the federal section) and $165B in funding will likely change all that. Read the full report here. |
| The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a new program on September 2 to fully reimburse local police departments for officers who assist with immigration enforcement through the 287(g) program. Starting October 1, the announcement stated that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will cover the annual salary and benefits of each eligible trained officer, including overtime coverage up to 25% of their annual salary, with funding provided through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The program also includes quarterly performance bonuses ranging from $500 to $1,000 per officer based on their success rate in locating undocumented immigrants identified by ICE. |
Well, you can’t say I didn’t leave you without reading material to head into the weekend with! 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