MAINE, USA — With just weeks to go until Election Day, ads from political candidates and their backers are flooding the airwaves.
But one, targeting Democratic Rep. Jared Golden, is drawing particular attention. The spot, funded by the Congressional Leadership Fund, does two things at once. A narrator says, "Jared Golden and liberals in Congress are giving free housing to illegal immigrants." As this happens, a clip of an article from the site "National Review" appears on screen, reading "Maine starts paying rent for illegal immigrants." So is this message true?
THE QUESTION:
Is Maine paying rent for illegal immigrants?
THE SOURCES:
- MaineHousing
- Lisa Parisio, immigration attorney with Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project
- Mufalo Chitam, executive director of the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition
THE ANSWER:
FALSE
No, Maine is not paying rent for illegal immigrants.
WHAT WE FOUND:
There are two competing points in the advertisement.
First is what the voice-over claims: that Golden and liberal members of Congress are giving free housing to illegal immigrants. As this plays, in small text at the bottom of the screen, the makers of the advertisement reference a roll call vote for House Resolution 1102—a 959-page appropriations bill passed earlier this year by the U.S. House of Representatives. Rep. Jared Golden voted 'yes' on the bill, which funds the Department of Homeland Security and its programs to assist migrants.
Also at the bottom of the screen is a reference to a press release outlining funding for one of those programs, run by FEMA—which is under the Department of Homeland Security. It is called the Shelter and Services Program and provides food, clothes, and shelter to migrants as they await their date in immigration court.
Whatever link the ad is trying to tie between Rep. Golden, Democrats, or Maine to DHS spending on migrant shelters, the large text on the screen reading, "Maine starts paying rent for illegal immigrants," is something completely different.
The headline is misleadingly referring to a 60-unit housing development in Brunswick—partly subsidized by the state—that is meant to house homeless asylum-seeking households.
The headline is false for one glaring reason: asylum seekers are not illegal immigrants.
"The right to seek asylum is a law in the United States. It is a law that has been in place now for decades," immigration attorney Lisa Parisio explained.
It is true that the state is helping out with the Brunswick tenants’ rents for up to two years. There is a very specific reason for this. Asylum seekers cannot work for at least six months after submitting their application for asylum.
So, while the federal government does have a program to shelter migrants as they await their court dates, the message that the advertisement is getting across—that Maine pays rent for illegal immigrants—is false.