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Mathieu, a volunteer with the Asylum Application Resource Center, helps a client register for help with her asylum application. Mathieu is himself an asylum seeker from Burundi, and said the clinic helps people overcome logistical barriers like paying for postage and accessing interpreters.

Immigration advocates in Maine brace for sweeping changes under Trump

In addition to threats of mass deportation, Maine groups said Trump could also end or curtail several legal immigration pathways.

Quina Nunes, left, helps prepare a potluck dinner at the North Parish Church earlier this month. Nunes, originally from Angola, worked in Sanford as a case manager until earlier this year, helping the new families resettle.

Sanford continues attracting new immigrant families, one year after initial asylum seeker arrivals

Around 250 asylum seekers, mostly from Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Haiti, have arrived in the city over the last year.

Worshippers at City of the Lord Church in Westbrook during Sunday prayers. At a time when church membership is declining across the U.S., immigration is fueling the creation of new congregations in the Portland area.

African immigration to Maine fuels boom in new churches, bringing distinct forms of Christianity

Even as many churches in Maine and across the country face declining membership, the state has a growing number of churches run by and serving African immigrant communities.

Amran Osman, founder of the mental health and substance abuse prevention group Generational Noor, in Lewiston.

Amid rising gun violence in Lewiston, Somali community searches for a way forward

Last weekend, a Somali-American teenager was found dead after police responded to a 911 call of shots fired, part of a broader trend of increased gun violence in the area.

The Antonio family, from left: Aicha, Ludovina, Leonel, Abraão, and Stan, at their home in West Gardiner. Abraão says purchasing a home in the U.S. was a big step in feeling more rooted here.

When work permits arrive, asylum seekers in Maine face varying paths toward economic independence

While some new immigrants are able to get on their feet fairly quickly, others can face headwinds based on language barriers and access to training opportunities.

A community member reads a prayer during mass at St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church in Cherryfield. Once a month, a team of clergy from the Hispanic Ministry of the Portland Diocese travels to Cherryfield to lead a mass in Spanish.

As Maine's Latino population grows, more seasonal workers are settling in Downeast

While the state's Latino population is still one of the smallest in the country, it's increased by roughly 75% since 2010.

As of Wednesday, 64 asylum seeker families were living at the Motel 6 in Portland. City staff are aiming to move everyone out by July 1st.

Portland confirms cockroaches, code violations at motel housing asylum seekers

The state revoked the lodging license for all but five of the motel's 128 rooms, finding they were being used for long-term stays. A follow-up inspection by the city found code violations including a cockroach infestation and improperly registered rooms.

Shukri Abdirahman in Lewiston in Feb. 2024. Abdirahman was born in a refugee camp in Kenya, and moved to the U.S. with her family when she was 10 years old. She says she wants to build solidarity between the Somali immigrant community and African American communities in Maine.

For some African immigrants in Maine, navigating racial identity in the US is complicated

Some Mainers from immigrant families say many preexisting categories don't fully represent their identities.

Aimee Biba teaches a Certified Nursing Assistant course at Portland Adult Education in 2022. Biba worked as a nurse anesthetist in her native Democratic Republic of Congo, but when she immigrated to the U.S. she had to redo nursing school in order to become a Registered Nurse. A legislative commission this month published several recommendations aimed at creating a pathway for professionals like Biba to reenter the health care field in Maine.

Commission proposes program to integrate foreign-trained physicians into Maine's medical workforce

A report released earlier this month proposes a sponsorship program pairing immigrants with medical backgrounds with Maine's teaching hospitals.

Three boys paddling on the Cupsuptic River during a #WeOutside trip this summer. The program brought groups of asylum seeker students on weekly outdoor trips.

New program introduces asylum seeker students to the Maine outdoors

#WeOutside launched this summer with weekly canoeing, hiking, and swimming trips, and will continue into the fall and winter.

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