[Thread] [Links for ways to donate in thread] #MaineRefugee agencies scramble to preserve basic services after State Department cuts off funding

Maine Public | By Ari Snider
Published January 29, 2025

"Days after suspending the federal refugee admissions program, the Trump administration issued a second directive ordering resettlement agencies to stop providing basic assistance to refugees already in the country. Though much remains uncertain, it's already disrupted services in Maine.

"Typically, the federal government reimburses resettlement agencies up to $1,650 for certain expenses related to housing, food, and other basic needs during the first 90 days after a refugee arrives, plus $1,350 per refugee for administrative costs and staff positions.

"But #InzaOuattara, Maine's refugee coordinator through #CatholicCharities, said the State Department advised last week that it will no longer cover those costs.

"Ouattara said that could have immediate consequences for about 200 newly-arrived refugees in Maine.

"'They are all in temporary housing and hotels,' Outtara said. 'Where are these small refugees agency that we have in Maine to get the money to pay for those hotels?'

"Outtara said this directive is separate from the Trump Administration's now-rescinded memo ordering a widespread freeze on government grants and loans.

"Following the State Department's directive, #RilwanOsman, executive director of #MaineImmigrantAndRefugeeServices, in #LewistonMaine, said he's already had to lay off about half a dozen employees.

"But he said his group will not abandon the roughly 100 refugees in its care.

"'The support might be limited, but again, as an organization, as a human being, we have that moral obligation to continue supporting these families, despite the challenges,' he said.

"Osman said he's hoping to raise some emergency stopgap funding through an appeal to the local community.

"The Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine is also scrambling to find new funding streams, said Micaela Tepler, with the group's resettlement team.

"She said that's led to temporary delays in delivering basic needs such as groceries.

"'So even if they're going to get the same services from a different funding, it's going to take a week or two until we're really effective at providing that,' Tepler said. 'So for clients, there is a real pause, and I think this week has been really, really scary and difficult for them.'

"The #USRefugeeAdmissionsProgram is a decades-old legal pathway for individuals fleeing violence and persecution. Refugees admitted through the program are vetted by various federal agencies before being assigned to state-level resettlement agencies."

https://www.mainepublic.org/politics/2025-01-29/maine-refugee-agencies-scramble-to-preserve-basic-services-after-state-department-cuts-off-funding
#MainePublic #NPR #News #USPol #MainePol #Fundraising #Refugees #RefugeeAid #NewMainers #Immigrants

100 years later: When the #KuKluxKlan came to #Maine, locals turned them away

In 1924, the group started marching in #Saco. But when they tried to cross into #Biddeford, they were turned away by Franco and Irish #immigrants.

Author: Don Carrigan
Published: 10:02 PM EDT September 16, 2024

SACO, Maine — "Traffic zooms steadily between Saco and Biddeford, crossing the Saco River on the Main Street bridge and the Elm Street bridge on Route 1, farther upstream.

"They are separate cities, with a combined population of about 43,000, and they have a great deal in common.

"But 100 years ago, the cities were split, with strong emotions on both sides of the river. They were divided by ethnicity, social status, and religion.

"And into that divide came the Ku Klux Klan in 1924.

"'I think most people in Maine have no idea of that history,' Biddeford native and former Mayor Alan Casavant said. 'When they think of the Klan, they think of down South, but the Klan was here with different objectives and different targets.'

"Indeed, the Klan was remarkably active in Maine in the mid-1920s, targeting immigrants and #Catholics. The dominant immigrant populations were #FrancoAmericans from Canada and Irish, and both were predominantly #Catholic. The immigrants came to work in the huge #TextileMills, and most lived in #tenements in Biddeford.

"Casavant said that was a big part of the division between the cities. The immigrant and Catholic workers lived in Biddeford. The #MillOwners and managers, whom he said were largely Protestant, lived in Saco.

"At the Saco Museum, director Anatole Brown said the Klan helped to fuel the friction from #economics, as well as cultural and religious differences, and that it gained a significant following around Maine, especially in mill towns.

"'Gov. [Ralph Owen] Brewster of Maine apparently had Klan connections and had mayors around Maine, like Rockland, Portland and Saco, where they had Klan ties.'

"Saco Mayor John Smith supported the Klan, Brown said. And when the Klan said it wanted to stage a rally in the city on Labor Day of 1924, Smith approved.

"'John G. Smith ran as a Klan affiliate and ran on a ticket that he was 100 percent American,' Brown said. 'He promised there would never be any Catholic schools built in Saco.'

"The reports were that the #KKK planned to rally in Saco and then march across the river to Biddeford to directly show their grievances to the immigrant community. That, said Brown, raised the ire of Biddeford residents and that city’s mayor, Edward Drapeau, who vowed to not let the Klan into Biddeford."

Read more:
https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/history/ku-klux-klan-saco-biddeford-march-franco-irish-immigrants/97-3a57b562-951f-4185-919f-e9be107f382b