The Faith in Action Committee at the First Parish in Portland will host a public forum Wednesday evening to discuss immigration’s impact on the future of Maine and its largest city.

The 6 p.m. forum will feature a panel discussion including Portland Mayor Michael Brennan; Tae Chong, business adviser at Coastal Enterprise Inc.; Sue Roche, executive director of the Immigration Legal Advocacy Project; Chris Hall, president of the Portland Regional Chamber; and Charles Lawton, chief economist at Planning Decisions Inc.

The forum at the church at 425 Congress St. comes at a time when immigration policy is a hot topic across the nation and in Maine. The administration of Gov. Paul LePage has taken steps to stop state funding of General Assistance municipal welfare support to illegal or undocumented immigrants.

At the same time, Maine’s economy is struggling because it has an aging population, attributed to a growing number of people over age 65 and a declining number of working-age adults.

On Tuesday, the World Affairs Council of Maine and the Maine Immigrant Rights Coalition will kick off a series of community conversations, “Celebrating Immigration.”

The first event in the series, “A Community Dialogue on Economic Opportunity and Integration,” will be held at 4 p.m. at the Hannaford Lecture Hall, University of Southern Maine, Portland.

Keynote speakers will be former Maine Attorney General James Tierney, who is director of the National State Attorneys General Program at Columbia Law School, and Eva Millona, who is co-chairwoman of the National Partnership for New Americans and executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition.