Stay updated with breaking news from Martha Stein. Get real-time updates on events, politics, business, and more. Visit us for reliable news and exclusive interviews.
Thank you to the Press Herald for your July 28 editorial, “Our View: Work authorization would help migrants, and the rest of us.” At Hope Acts, a Portland-based nonprofit serving new asylum seekers, we also want to voice our support for Rep. Chellie Pingree’s legislation to allow asylum seekers to apply for work permits 30 […]
"In addition to having many more clients than we've had in the past, the cost of everything, from labor to housing to food, to all of our supplies has gone up."
Many people who arrived in Maine long before the current wave of asylum seekers are still waiting for their cases to be heard – and success is not at all guaranteed. The waiting can mean years of anxiety, depression and uncertainty.
Asylum seekers new to Portland spend much time navigating red tape and waiting: for hearings, work permits, English classes and a place to call home.
Hope Acts will expand a work clinic and services that will allow New Mainers to become eligible for employement sooner.