Panelists, from left, Sarah Lawrence on behalf of Chellie Pingree, Claude Rwaganje, Deqa Dhalac and Sarah Lentz answered questions from students at Portland Adult Education on Oct. 29. Contributed / Portland Adult Education

Instead of asking questions about the complexities of English grammar, a panel of immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers taking English classes at Portland Adult Education peppered elected officials about the governmental workings of Portland and the United States.

“My students are very interested in how the U.S. works. They want to know all kinds of things about how it works. What are the laws about work, laws about rental housing, how are decisions made?” said Shoshana Hoose, the instructor at Portland Adult Education who developed the curriculum that led to the Oct. 29 event.

The panel of local and state leaders in the Rines Auditorium at Portland Public Library served as the culmination of the ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) students’ study of American government and as an opportunity for them to connect with their representatives a week before Election Day.

The panel consisted of Sarah Lawrence on behalf of U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree; Deqa Dhalac, a state representative from South Portland; Claude Rwaganje, a city councilor of Westbrook; and Sarah Lentz, chair of the Portland Board of Public Education.

Over 75 ESOL students attended the forum at the Portland Public Library, with some asking prepared questions to public officials. Contributed / Portland Adult Education

“This is an amazing country that we live in. There are so many resources that we have if we know how to really access that,” said Dhalac, who also served as the mayor of South Portland and is a Somali emigrant. “And as a state legislator, as city councilors, our federal government, our local school board members, we are trying to do that so that each and every one of us can really access those resources that are available for us.

“So, it’s really important to also understand your community, your leaders in the state of Maine really want you here and want to work with you,” she said to the crowd.

Portland Adult Education is a branch of Portland Public Schools and currently teaches over 1,800 immigrants and refugees from over 60 countries, according to its website. Students attending the discussion originated from countries including Somalia, Guinea, Turkey, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and Congo Brazzaville. It was the first time in eight years Portland Adult Education hosted a panel of this nature.

ESOL students from the Level 5 English, an advanced course, asked the panel questions ranging from local issues to the workings of the U.S. federal government. Also in attendance were numerous ESOL instructors and students in Portland Adult Education’s language arts class, the successor to the ESOL Level 5 course.

Students asked about local issues such as how to bring more bus routes to municipalities surrounding Portland, how Portland plans to decrease violence in schools, and how the elected officials are working to bring more housing to Maine.

Other questions expanded to the federal level. One student asked why it takes so long for asylum seekers to get work permits. Under federal law, asylum seekers must wait 180 days after filing an asylum petition to receive authorization to work, with delays frequently increasing this waiting period.

Lawrence spoke about Pingree’s bipartisan Asylum Seeker Work Authorization Act of 2023 that would shorten the waiting period to 30 days. Pingree introduced the bill to the House of Representatives in 2023 and it has not been passed. Lawrence connected this to a previous question about the impact of the election on asylum seekers in Maine, as the bill has been stalled by the current Republican majority.

Other broader questions about the federal government spanned hot topics with questions such as “Why is it so easy to buy guns?” and “How do you deal with lobbying groups that influence government decisions?” The representatives agreed gun violence and money’s influence on elections were big challenges and spoke to small ways they were working to address them in Maine.

“Having the power to ask a question and having (elected officials) take it seriously is very impactful. It’s a powerful experience,” said Hoose.

Hoose developed the Portland Adult Education curriculum for Level 5 classes that culminated in this panel. In preparation in the month prior, ESOL students practiced formulating questions in English, said Hoose. They studied the levels of U.S. government and researched political issues to bring to the panelists, she said.

Miqueias Erasto asks a question about increasing housing in Portland at the ESOL student forum. Contributed / Portland Adult Education

Miqueias Erasto is an asylum seeker from Angola and asked the panel about how they are increasing housing in Portland, where he is has lived for two years. He began advancing his English in Level 2 classes with Hoose two years ago and is now a Level 5 English learner.

“It was (an) amazing experience. The answer was very clear and easy to understand. We are now learning English, but they made everything easy to understand and get the point. It was nice. I learned about a lot of things,” said Erasto.

Antonio Wulu came to the U.S. in 2010 from Angola and is also in a Level 5 class. He lives in South Portland. He left the panel thinking about what to do next.

“It was very good, very interesting,” said Wulu. “I’m thinking about how we (had) good answers and also answers in action.”

Repeatedly throughout the conversation, the representatives emphasized the value of the immigrant and asylum-seeker community to Portland and to Maine.

“When I was running for the council in Westbrook, because I was running at-large, I went throughout Westbrook, and I was shocked to see how many immigrants own houses in Westbrook,” said Rwaganje, who was himself an asylum seeker from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“I was shocked because the people are really growing the economy through home ownership, through the workforce, through small businesses. So definitely we are making a big impact in the community,” he said.

In addition to their economic importance, Lawrence spoke about the impact of immigrants and refugees in shaping Maine’s culture.

“Without immigrants, Maine would not be nearly as cool, because every immigrant has the opportunity to share about their own home culture, and without immigrants, Mainers would not know nearly as easily about cultures outside of Maine,” said Lawrence.

“And guess what? They’re also learning that we’re not all that different. So, it’s incredibly helpful. You’re already improving Maine by simply being here,” she said.

The audience applauded when panelists spoke to the many ways that immigrants and refugees benefit Portland and the U.S.

“I’m so glad to be here. This is a good way for me to know that they love us. They want us to be here. They want us to stay in this country. It was nice to hear that from them,” said Erasto.

“Learning English is a good challenge. It’s not easy, it’s a good challenge. I like it so far,” he said.