asylum seekers

Published
February 2, 2024

More refugees, asylum seekers are arriving in central Maine in search of a better life

Officials say soaring rents and limited availability of housing units in Portland, Lewiston, and other big cities is driving more refugees and asylum seekers to central Maine neighborhoods like Augusta and Waterville.
Published
February 2, 2024

Feds deny request to accelerate work permits for Maine asylum seekers

The state asked for a waiver of the federal six-month waiting period to let asylum seekers go to work, but no such provision exists in federal law.
Published
January 29, 2024

Volunteers prep Brunswick Landing apartments for asylum-seeking families
Published
January 16, 2024

Gov. Mills asks Legislature to create new state office for immigrants

The Office of New Americans would help asylum seekers and other immigrants integrate into the workforce and community.
Published
January 15, 2024

Asylum seekers living in South Portland hotel on track to move out by June

MaineHousing, Catholic Charities and Prosperity Maine have seen recent success helping people find permanent housing, and many asylum seekers have received work authorization and found jobs.

Published
January 13, 2024

Group hopes to bring furniture bank to Lewiston

The group of volunteers brings new or gently used items to asylum seekers in Lewiston and Auburn.
Published
January 11, 2024

Transitions at South Portland asylum-seeker shelter on schedule, operators say

The 53 families at the temporary shelter at the Howard Johnson hotel will be moved to permanent housing by the June 30 deadline, according to the state.
Published
December 26, 2023

100 laptops will get formerly unhoused online for job search

Computers and internet access will be loaned out in a collaborative project aimed at overcoming a key obstacle to employment.
Published
December 26, 2023

2023 Photos of the Year: Maine’s asylum seekers

In recent years, thousands of asylum seekers, mostly from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola, have made their way to Maine, hearing that it's a safe haven. From January to June, more than 1,600 arrived in Portland in need of help. The city found itself frequently overwhelmed, with little to no space available in its shelters as families, including many with small children, kept coming. Community groups, nonprofits and churches helped house and guide the newcomers. The city turned the gym in the Portland Expo into temporary housing from the spring into late summer. Our photographers spent months this year documenting the lives of new asylum seekers trying to make their way in an unfamiliar place and checking in on others who had been for years to see how their lives in Maine had turned out.
Published
December 14, 2023

Asylum-seeking families begin moving into new Brunswick homes

Part of a 60-unit housing development for asylum-seekers in Brunswick Landing has been completed.