President-elect Donald Trump made immigration policy a cornerstone of his campaign this fall and has promised to carry out mass deportations and strengthen border restrictions. While exact details of Trump’s policies have yet to be released, immigrants’ rights advocates are already preparing for what these policies could mean in Maine.
Here’s what we know so far:
How many immigrants are in Maine?
Maine has a population of about 56,419 foreign-born residents, which comprises about 4.1% of the state’s 1.3 million population, according to the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank focused on improving immigration policy. About half, or 47%, of foreign-born residents are white, about 22% are Black or African American, 19% are Asian and 7% are Latino.
Fifty-six percent, or 31,885, of foreign-born residents are naturalized citizens, while 43%, or 24,534, are noncitizens.
Maine has a population of around 5,000 unauthorized immigrants, according to the Pew Research Center. Nationally, there are about 46 million foreign-born residents in the U.S., including about 11 million unauthorized immigrants.
What is the difference between undocumented immigrants, asylum seeker and refugee?
Undocumented, or unauthorized, immigrants are noncitizens who generally have entered the United States without inspection, overstayed a period of lawful admission, or violated the terms of their admission.
Asylum seekers are immigrants who come to the United States seeking protection from persecution or human rights violations and must apply for asylum to stay in the country once they’re here.
A refugee is someone who has been forced to flee their home country due to persecution, conflict, violence, or other circumstances that make them need international protection. Unlike asylum seekers, who must apply for asylum after they enter the U.S., refugees are designated as such while still abroad and then resettled by the U.S. government.
Trump has promised mass deportations. What does that mean and how would it work?
While campaigning, Trump pledged he would carry out the largest deportation program in U.S. history. It’s unclear what exactly this would look like, but Trump’s campaign website says he would deputize the National Guard and local law enforcement “to assist with rapidly removing illegal alien gang members and criminals.”
Trump’s newly appointed “border czar,” Thomas Homan, told the Washington Post on Monday that he planned to focus deportation efforts on those who pose a threat to public safety and national security and people who recently crossed the border illegally. He said that anyone with an active removal order could be deported, even if they don’t have a criminal record.
Some Democratic governors have said they will resist Trump’s policies on immigration and other issues. A spokesperson for Maine Gov. Janet Mills said this week that she is monitoring Trump’s plans regarding deportations and has not yet received any communications or specifics from the incoming administration.
How could Trump’s policies impact the asylum process?
The American Civil Liberties Union is warning that Trump could try to restrict or shut down the asylum system, either through executive orders or legislation. The Trump transition team did not provide details Friday in response to a question about whether there will be changes to the system, though Trump’s campaign website says he has plans to “eliminate asylum fraud.”
During his first administration, Trump and his allies placed greater burdens on asylum seekers to prove their claims and issued new rules for immigration judges aimed at making it harder for claims to be won, according to the New York Times.
Attempting to shut down asylum would pose significant legal challenges and conflict with existing policies, the ACLU has said.
“The ACLU and its partners challenged numerous Trump anti-asylum policies, pressing these legal claims and more,” the ACLU wrote in a memo over the summer. “Further attempts to eviscerate the asylum system will also be vulnerable to legal challenge.”
What are advocates saying?
Immigrants’ rights advocates in Maine are worried about the impact Trump’s policies could have here based on actions taken during his previous administration and his campaign rhetoric. They cited Trump’s travel ban for people from predominantly Muslim countries and family separations at the southern border as examples.
It’s still early though, and advocates are watching to see what policy specifics will be released.
“ILAP is deeply concerned about racist and anti-immigrant policies that would have a devastating impact on immigrant communities in Maine and beyond,” said Sue Roche, executive director of the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project.
“But despite threats of mass deportation, we have a legal system and due process rights that must be enforced. ILAP and other immigration advocates around the country will fiercely defend those rights for our clients and for immigrant communities, while we continue to push for an immigration system that truly lives up to our ideals of fairness and justice.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
