GORHAM — The Gorham Town Council weighed the issue of denying General Assistance to undocumented immigrants on Tuesday night, voting unanimously to continue providing the aid. The council also voted 4-3 not to oppose a lawsuit challenging the legality of an order issued by the LePage administration.

Several councilors, however, made clear that their votes didn’t reflect their personal opinions on whether undocumented immigrants should benefit from taxpayer money.

Councilor Benjamin Hartwell, who sponsored both agenda items, said he wasn’t aware that undocumented immigrants could be eligible for General Assistance until the LePage administration and the Maine Department of Health and Human Services issued a directive in June ordering cities and towns to cease offering the assistance, or lose state aid.

“Knowing that it’s possible that you can, I’m prepared to say that the town of Gorham will not” provide it, he said.

General Assistance, which is administered by cities and towns and paid for partly by the state, helps people meet basic necessities such as food, housing and heat in the winter.

Maine Attorney General Janet Mills opposed LePage’s directive and questioned its legality, saying it circumvented the regular rule-making process.

With two different messages coming from the state, the Maine Municipal Association feared cities and towns would be challenged in court no matter what course they took.

The association, which advises municipalities on policy and legal matters, filed a lawsuit in June asking a Superior Court judge to decide whether DHHS’s directive was legally enforceable and whether the agency overstepped its regulatory authority when LePage threatened to withhold all General Assistance aid to communities that did not comply. Portland and Westbrook joined the suit.

Gorham councilors said the town could make itself more vulnerable to lawsuits by denying general assistance to undocumented immigrants before the court case is settled.

“I’m looking at it as, if we do it the wrong way, we’re going to get sued,” Council Chairman Michael Phinney said.

Councilor Matthew Robinson considered it “a sad day in Gorham” that the council was even discussing such an issue.

“I’m not getting in the middle of a political campaign right now and putting my 2 cents in,” he said.

Councilor Shonn Moulton believes the town should deny General Assistance to undocumented immigrants, but didn’t want to put the town in position to get sued.

Moulton, however, voted to oppose the municipal association’s lawsuit.

“I think the MMA is representing a lot of people in this lawsuit without asking what their thought processes are,” he said.

Councilors Hartwell and Suzanne Phillips also voted to oppose the lawsuit.

Phinney said he initially thought the municipal association was taking a stance that undocumented immigrants should get assistance, but now believes the organization is simply seeking clarification.

 

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