News & Commentary

From our op-ed in the Portland Press Herald:

Yesterday, the Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP) released a report detailing myriad places the LePage Administration has been leaving money on the table at the expense of everyday Mainers. The report shows that most of the money is being left behind by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), led by Commissioner Mary Mayhew, and would otherwise go to fund things like mental health programming and drug rehabilitation and treatment programs.

We know that freedom doesn’t protect itself. We know that in a participatory democracy, every voice matters and no action is too small. Today, so many of our basic freedoms are under attack by Trump’s policies. Now, more than ever, we are each called to action.  We are each called to organize in our communities. We have been answering the call, and we have been showing up in the streets to vocalize opposition.

The ACLU of Maine is urging the Maine legislature to reject several parts of the governor's proposed budget that raise significant constitutional concerns. We're also arguing that the LePage administration is misusing the budget process in an effort to ram through significant changes to Maine’s social safety net. 

The Maine legislature is considering two bills that would make it harder for some Mainers to vote. 

We are community organizers, ministers, rabbis, imams, lawyers, and teachers. We are mothers, fathers, grandparents, sisters, brothers, and friends. We were born in Somalia, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Mexico, the United States and other countries. We are all in America for different reasons, and we are all here for the same reasons.

The following piece originally appeared on wcsh6.com as part of their feature, "Two Maines." 

A federal judge in Brooklyn tonight ordered an emergency stay against President Trump's Muslim ban. The ACLU and other groups filed suit this morning, on behalf of two Iraqi men who were en route to the United States on immigrant visas when President Trump issued an executive order banning many Muslims from entering the country.

UPDATE: Mr. Darweesh, according to Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), has been released. Mr. Alshawi and others remain in dentention. The ACLU, along with several groups, filed a lawsuit this morning on behalf of two Iraqi men who were en route to the United States on immigrant visas when President Trump issued an executive order banning many Muslims from entering the country.One of the men, Hameed Khalid Darweesh, was traveling on an Iraqi special Immigrant Visa and had worked as an electrical engineer and contractor for the U.S. government from 2003–2010. Brandon Friedman, a former Obama administration official who commanded a platoon during the invasion of Iraq, said Mr. Darweesh had worked for him as an interpreter. He said on Twitter yesterday that Mr. Darweesh “spent years keeping U.S. soldiers alive in combat in Iraq.”The other, Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, had been granted a Follow to Join Visa. His wife and 7-year-old son are lawful permanent residents residing in Houston, Texas,