David Smith, an employee of the Portland Parks, Recreation & Facilities Department, shovels in front of City Hall on Feb. 6 after it closed early because of a storm. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald

Portland city leaders are imploring the state and surrounding municipalities to help provide social services for asylum seekers and refugees, warning that pending changes to state and federal funding could result in a critical lack of resources.

Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services put forth a new rule late last year that would slash General Assistance reimbursement for emergency shelter expenses in Portland.

Weeks later, Gov. Janet Mills proposed limiting the use of General Assistance for housing to only three months in any 12-month period.

Then, a memo issued about two weeks ago from the U.S. Department of State was sent to refugee resettlement agencies in Maine informing them that federal reimbursement would no longer be available for aid provided to refugee families during their first 90 days in the country, which includes short-term housing and food assistance.

The changes have Portland leaders worried there will be less state and federal support to help those coming to the city in need of housing and other assistance.

“I’m frustrated. I’m angry. I’m concerned. Because there is no plan,” Portland Mayor Mark Dion said in a phone interview this week. “It seems like every level of government wants to pass the responsibility along in order to preserve their budgets.”

Between Oct. 1 and Jan. 31, Catholic Charities reported that 332 refugees arrived in Maine, most of whom went to Lewiston or Portland. They reported that 16 asylum seekers arrived in the state during that same time period.

Refugees and asylum seekers have distinct legal statuses. A refugee is someone who has already been granted protection before entering the country. An asylum seeker is a person who has applied for refuge but is still waiting for a decision on their claim.

Refugees are not subject to the same waiting period for work as asylum seekers, who sometimes need more services when they first enter the country because they cannot legally work.

Advocates in Portland say that many programs in the city serve both communities and that it remains unclear exactly how this directive will impact services for both groups.

Portland relies on state General Assistance to provide nightly shelter to hundreds of people, many of them asylum seekers, but the city also leans on nonprofits to fill in the gaps that it cannot cover. And many of those organizations count on federal grants. Should these crucial federal and state supports vanish, advocates say, it could leave Portland in a crisis.

Mayor Mark Dion speaks at the start of a City Council meeting on Nov. 4. Ben McCanna/Portland Press Herald

As the city begins crafting its next budget, Dion said he doesn’t want to ask for more from Portland taxpayers, but unless the state and federal governments step up refugees, asylum seekers and homeless Portlanders could find themselves in dire straights.

City councilors are worried about the ripple effects, too.

“If we don’t have federal or state funding we are absolutely going to have to get creative with how we bring revenue in at the city level. If these revenue streams dry up and go away, are we going to have to look at different tax relief programs or fees? We have to get really creative in the things that we can control,” Councilor April Fournier said.

The governor’s office did not respond to questions about Mills’ proposal to scale back General Assistance funding.

‘A RECIPE FOR DISASTER’

The state’s proposed General Assistance reimbursement cuts are still pending. The governor’s proposal to limit housing support to three months was cut out of the supplemental budget that was approved on the House and Senate floor this week, but Republicans are fighting to put it back in. It could also be included in the biennial budget, which must pass by July 1.

The State Department directive, meanwhile, has been temporarily halted by a federal judge, but agencies in Portland say there is widespread confusion and that they haven’t been able to access all of their funding.

Danny Muller, acting director of the Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center, said federal dollars that the organization counts on for paying staff seemed to be frozen and were still inaccessible as of Wednesday, though he wasn’t sure if the funds were frozen because of the directive or an unrelated delay.

Mufalo Chitam, executive director of Maine Immigrant Rights Coalition, also worries what this could mean for her organization.

“Having cuts coming in at both the federal and state level is really a recipe for disaster,” she said.

Mufalo Chitam, the executive director of the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition, poses for a portrait in October 2019. Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald

Chitam said her organization is not directly impacted by the State Department directive, but that many of the immigrants they serve are at risk of losing housing as a result of it.

And those funding cuts, paired with the federal crackdown on immigration, have created a difficult climate for immigrants in Portland, she said.

“People are afraid they will be deported, then they can’t go out to find jobs because they are afraid of being picked up. There are so many things happening at the same time,” she said.

COUNCIL ACTION

Fournier said she is worried that slashing services for refugees could put a strain on the city’s shelter system.

When the city’s homeless services center first opened in Riverside, it was primarily occupied by asylum seekers and refugees, prompting Portland to work with the state to open a separate shelter exclusively for asylum seekers. Fournier said if refugees lose housing en masse, she worries that history may repeat itself — only this time, there is no more funding to build another new shelter.

The Portland City Council at a Nov. 4 meeting. Ben McCanna/Portland Press Herald

Councilor Ben Grant said he thinks it’s too early to panic.

“I don’t think the city can pick up the slack if all these things happen at once, but it’s important for us to be patient,” he said.

During a recent city budget workshop, Finance Director Brendan O’Connell projected that taxes could go up between 3.2% and 7%  in the upcoming fiscal year — in line with recent years’ increases, despite the state’s potential General Assistance cuts and increased spending by the city.

Councilor Wes Pelletier said continuing to provide social services is a priority as the council works to craft a new budget.

“We are waiting to see exactly the situation that is going to be ahead of us, but I am going to do everything I can to make sure we are not leaving people to starve and be homeless any more than they already are,” he said.

Councilor Kate Sykes said she has talked to other councilors about what to do about potential cuts to refugee services but declined to be specific because the council has not reached a consensus on how to address the executive orders and proposed state funding cuts. But she said she shares Dion’s frustration that the city’s social services network will likely be disrupted.

“Portland has done our part. We’ve built a system that works,” she said. “There is an ecosystem that is in balance right now. This is disrupting that balance.”

Sykes said she would like to convene a statewide task force to come up with ways to address the fallout from the state and federal funding cuts.

“If we don’t figure this out, we could have a humanitarian crisis on our hands,” she said.

Dion said he hopes to put a resolution before the council to implore the state government to step up and not to cut General Assistance reimbursement.

“We need to be real and candid about the fact that poverty exists in Maine, and it appears from these budget initiatives at the federal and state level that we will be left to handle it alone,” he said.