LEWISTON – Maine is much more diverse than people think, according to immigration law attorney Beth Stickney.

Stickney spent years providing legal advice for immigrants in the Boston area, helping members of 85 nationalities annually.

“But here, since 2000 when I began keeping records, we’ve never helped fewer than 100 nationalities per year,” she said. “We really are getting them from all over.”

Stickney, executive director of the Portland-based Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, spoke of her experiences to 40 people Thursday at the Great Falls Forum at the Lewiston Public Library.

Lewiston’s largest and most notable immigrant group comes from Somalia, but Stickney wanted to discuss the state as a whole. And Spanish-speakers, whether they are from Mexico, Chile or anywhere in between, are the most common groups that come to her office.

But don’t bother trying to count Maine’s immigrants.

“If anybody says they know how many are here, they don’t,” she said. Census numbers are notoriously out of date and there is no other sure forecast. She estimated there are between 46,000 and 65,000 immigrants in Maine today.

Stickney also made a case for continuing legal immigration. It’s never easy for people to leave their homes, even if they come from places suffering from catastrophes. Especially in war-torn countries, most people try to go about their lives. Those who try to leave simply want to make better lives for themselves and their families, and they have to work at it.

“It’s that attitude, that kind of gumption that we want here,” she said.

Regulations make it difficult. Earlier immigrants had it easier, she said. If they could pass a health screening and an interview, they were admitted.

Today’s immigrants must contend with quotas and classifications that can split families. At one time, the waiting list to bring a spouse over was 18 months. Now it can be as long as 10 years.

Those who do come find jobs few native-born Americans are willing to do. Picking broccoli involves stooping and cutting with a sharp knife and pays well. Growers who have a hard time finding native-born workers rely on migrant workers.

“They are people who are living the American dream,” she said. “They might not have full legal status, but they are here and willing to work hard.”

The Great Falls Forum series of luncheon speakers continues Nov. 16 with Bruce Gagnon, coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space.