PORTLAND, Maine — A Maine nonprofit dedicated to helping people seeking asylum in Maine announced Tuesday that it is getting money from the state to help immigrants fill out their paperwork accurately.
Hope Acts in Portland helps house asylum seekers, teach them English, and apply for permission to work in the U.S.
Currently, asylum seekers must wait a minimum of six months before the federal government allows them to apply for permission to work, but delays in the federal immigration system often force them to wait a year or more.
The Maine Department of Labor will give Hope Acts $276,000 to hire new staff, and interpreters, and get supplies. MaineHousing is giving an additional $100,000 over two years to help Hope Acts continue its Asylum Application Assistance Program at the Portland Public Library.
So far in 2023, Hope Acts has helped submit over 140 asylum applications.
“With the large numbers of asylum seekers coming to Hope Acts for help, the funding and the offer of space at the library came at a critical time,” Hope Acts Executive Director Martha Stein said. “The library staff has really gone above and beyond to help us and to welcome our clients.”
The DOL will also provide career counseling services at the work permit clinic.
Hope Acts says this money will help them process 1,000 work authorization applications over the next two years.
So far in 2023, volunteers at that clinic helped process more than 288 applications. In 2022, Hope Acts processed over 700.
The announcement comes as City of Portland staff reported that more than 1,000 people have come to Portland alone seeking asylum.
The city opened the Portland Expo as an emergency shelter on April 10. Seven days later, it was at capacity with 301 people staying there. In addition, the city opened its new Homeless Services Center on March 22. City staff said roughly 70 percent of the census there are asylum seekers. The HSC is also at capacity.
"If families or individuals arrive when our shelters are at capacity, we will be issuing landlord forms so that individuals can complete a self-directed housing search," Portland's Health and Human Services Director Kristen Dow said in an email to staff.
In 2019, the city opened the Expo to serve asylum seekers during an influx then. The city is once again asking the community to help with donations. Monetary donations can be given online by visiting here or texting the word EXPO to 91999. Donations can also be mailed or dropped off at Portland City Hall.
Physical donations are limited only to items specifically listed on an Amazon wish list as these items can be shipped directly to the Expo. No other physical donations will be accepted.
