City Manager Steve Buck says many of the more than 100 people who have come to Sanford for assistance “were solicited and brought here.”
asylum seekers
Posted inLocal & State
As Portland exceeds its capacity to help, asylum seekers find their way to Sanford
With shelters in Portland filling up, about 90 people have gone to Sanford City Hall in the past week to seek General Assistance money and a place to live.
advertisement
Posted inNation / World, News
U.S. to open foreign centers in bid to stop migration surge
The migration centers are part of an intense effort to try to prevent thousands of people from making the often-dangerous journey to the southern border.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Portland youth chess club gives asylum seekers a sense of belonging
The local chapter of international nonprofit The Gift of Chess has organized weekly games to help children build life skills.
Posted inLocal & State
Portland tells families it can’t guarantee shelter after Expo reaches capacity
New families, including asylum seekers, will still be able to access General Assistance if they can find housing on their own, but all of the city shelters are full.
Posted inLocal & State
Portland asks for donations to support asylum seekers as city prepares to open Expo
The Expo is slated to open Monday as a temporary emergency shelter for up to 300 asylum-seeking individuals and families.
Posted inLocal & State, Politics
Lawmakers urged to provide MaineCare coverage to noncitizens
The bill sponsored by House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland, would extend health coverage to newly arrived asylum seekers and other noncitizens. Republicans oppose the proposal, citing what they say is its $7 million price tag.
Posted inNation / World, News
40 killed in fire at immigration detention center in Mexico
Tensions between authorities and migrants had apparently been running high in recent weeks in Ciudad Juarez, where shelters are full of people waiting to cross into the U.S. or for the asylum process to play out.
Posted inLocal & State
City plans to reopen Portland Expo as temporary shelter for asylum seekers
Staff plan to open the Expo as a temporary shelter as soon as April 10 and operate it until a private effort to open a new shelter on Blueberry Road is complete.
Posted inLocal & State, News, Politics
Maine lawmakers want federal waiver allowing asylum seekers to work right away
Current federal law requires that they wait 6 months after applying for asylum.