The growing number of asylum-seekers in Maine has spurred cities and towns to join forces and build more transitional housing for families in need.

The Safe in Maine coalition aims to raise $2 million of the $43 million it hopes to receive in state and federal funding for some 200 modular housing units.

Belinda Ray, director of strategic partnerships for the Greater Portland Council of Governments, said the temporary homes would help the approximately 1,000 people currently residing in emergency shelters and hotels throughout the region.

"If we can get these houses established it will really help to save money because we won't have to rely on hotels for traditional housing," Ray explained.

Ray pointed out the homes would be built by local companies and would include much needed outdoor space for families, especially those who've arrived in Maine after fleeing persecution or war in their own home countries.

The Portland area has a long history of welcoming immigrants and refugees, many from Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq, though there has been a more recent increase in asylum-seekers from Angola, Haiti and Ukraine.

Portland alone welcomed nearly 2,000 asylum-seekers in the past year, but it can no longer provide newcomers with adequate housing.

Mufalo Chitam, executive director of the Maine Immigrants' Rights Coalition, said the new Mainers are not arriving in search of free amenities, but rather the chance to improve their lives.

"You know, people come to the United States. They come here because of the opportunity to work," Chitam noted. "This is an opportunity for enriching our culture."

Maine has the oldest overall population of any state in the U.S. and observers say these new Mainers are a great boon to the state's workforce and economy. So much so, Gov. Janet Mills and members of Maine's congressional delegation are working to change the federal law which prohibits asylum-seekers from working until their asylum application has been processed for at least 180 days.

With 2025 almost here, organizations assisting Minnesota's Latino populations say they're laser focused on a couple of areas - mental health-care access and securing temporary protections to those fleeing violence in Ecuador.

Communities Organizing Latino Power and Action, or COPAL, says the two issues can overlap.

Federal officials face increasing pressure to grant Temporary Protected Status to Ecuadorians residing in Minnesota and other states. TPS allows these individuals to work in the U.S. on a short-term basis.

The Coordinator for COPAL's Workers' Center, Claudia Lainez, said not everyone qualifies for asylum status - but added that there's the same level of desire to fill labor shortages.

"We have a lot of workers that are ready to take some of these jobs," said Lainez, "but they don't have the proper documentation to do so."

Ecuador isn't on the list of countries with TPS designation. Calls for urgency grow with the likelihood of a mass deportation plan under the incoming Trump administration.

Critics of the program say it has stretched beyond its original mission.

Meanwhile, COPAL is working with local partners to overcome language barriers for Latinos needing health care, including those still feeling past trauma from their native country.

Cecilia Calabria is COPAL's health promoter manager - and she said overall, access to health insurance and care can be hard for Latinos because of those language barriers and trust issues about reaching out.

For mental health care, she said the language problem is very noticeable.

"Mental health is not something that you can do with an interpreter," said Calabria. "You really need to do it in your own language, in the way you can express."

Calabria added that there's mental health stigma within the Latino community, and for chronic health needs, there's an information gap in seeking preventive care.

She said that often stems from the landscape in the countries they immigrated from.

COPAL's health navigators link these populations with resources.

Starting in 2025, Minnesota will allow undocumented individuals to apply for certain forms of state health coverage aid, so long as they meet various requirements.

This holiday season, a nonprofit campaign is asking Americans to write holiday cards to welcome newly arrived refugee families.

The 10th annual "Hope for the Holidays" campaign is spearheaded by Global Refuge, a charity founded in 1939, previously named Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service.

Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Global Refuge, explained the program's mission.

"It is an important reminder, during the holiday season -- as we recognize that Jesus was a refugee -- that America is a nation of immigrants," Vignarajah emphasized. "That for so many faiths, welcoming the stranger is a part of our religions. It's a way to show a token of support and hope."

Global Refuge resettles about 20,000 legal refugees immigrating to the U.S. each year, including 7,600 in California. The families are fleeing conflict in places like Ukraine and Afghanistan. Vignarajah noted they often spend years in camps and undergo extreme vetting before the federal government grants them asylum.

Despite the flood of anti-immigrant rhetoric during the presidential campaign, Vignarajah hopes the incoming Trump administration takes a cue from Ronald Reagan on refugee policy.

"President Reagan resettled 600,000 refugees during his presidency," Vignarajah pointed out. "And unfortunately, during the prior administration, the refugee program was cut significantly. Our hope is that we don't see that happen in the new year, because there are obviously families who are fleeing for their lives."

The card-writing effort is headquartered at Ascension Lutheran Church in Thousand Oaks, north of Los Angeles. Donations are used to buy toys, school supplies and basic necessities for newly arrived families.


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As President-elect Donald Trump doubles down on promises to round up and deport the nation's 11 million undocumented immigrants, the city of Castle Rock has pledged to make its law enforcement personnel available to assist federal agencies.

But that support could come with significant costs.

Jeremy Robbins - executive director of the American Immigration Council - pointed to new data showing that deporting people who work in critical industries such as construction, education, food production, and health care would reduce the nation's Gross Domestic Product by nearly 7% - which is on par with losses during the Great Recession.

"The costs of mass deportation would be tremendous," said Robbins, "not just because it's so expensive to deport people, but because it would wreak havoc on the economy."

The cost of deportations is expected to be well over $100 billion, and Trump's transition team has vowed to slash federal funding for local governments that refuse to cooperate.

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston has promised to protect undocumented residents, many of whom have been contributing members of their communities for decades.

Each year, immigrants add $54 billion to Colorado's economy.

Some critics have called Trump's recent vow to scrap restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests at churches, hospitals and schools an effort to instill widespread fear.

During a recent Ethnic Media Services briefing, Elizabeth Taufa - policy attorney with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center - said it's important to understand what mass deportations would look like at the community level.

"Kids that aren't going to school because their parents are afraid of being deported," said Taufa. "Shortages of health-care workers because people either move to places that are a little bit safer or they are removed from the country. It looks like fewer teachers, and we are already facing a teacher shortage."

A strong majority of voters across party lines don't want mass deportations, according to an October survey.

Instead, they want lawmakers to create a legal path to citizenship, a move the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates would reduce the federal deficit by nearly $1 trillion.



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