IMMIGRATION
Here are our Calls to Action, Guides, and Explainers on issues related to immigration and immigrant rights. Interested in helping us track legislation and policy on this topic at the state or federal level? Take action with us.
IMMIGRATION CHECKPOINTS: Know Your Rights
Customs and Border Patrol Agents are increasingly stopping motorists and bus passengers in Maine to question their immigration status.
QUICK ACTION: Know what to do if you encounter these agents, and help others to know their rights.
HOUSE IMMIGRATION BILLS: Reject All Partisan Bills
The hardline Goodlatte bill and the Ryan bill are dead. The House may make one more partisan attempt at an immigration bill that would replace family separation with indefinite family detention.
QUICK ACTION: Tell your House reps: we reject all partisan immigration bills!
ANTI-IMMIGRANT BILL: Oppose LePage’s Expansion of ICE Power in Maine
Extremist Rep. Larry Lockman and Gov. LePage are back with another anti-immigrant bill that would force local law enforcement to serve as extensions of ICE deportation forces. The House rejected the bill today 76-65 (House roll call) and the Senate votes next. QUICK ACTION: Call your senator at 1-800-423-6900 and leave a message with her/his name, your name and town, and that you want them to NO on LD 1833.
DACA UPDATE: Stay Focused on DREAMers
Two important court decisions have temporarily secured DACA, but we still need a permanent solution.
QUICK ACTION: Learn how our Senators voted on recently failed plans, and what new ones could be in the pipeline, and make sure our reps stay focused on permanently protecting DREAMers.
FIX DACA NOW: Pass Bipartisan “Phase One” Bills
Trump eliminated the DACA program and his incoherent and racist policy positions are propelling the government toward a second shutdown. Bipartisan bills have been introduced in the House and Senate that can resolve the crisis.
QUICK ACTION: Speak out publicly in support of DACA, and tell your MoC: no more delays. Support the bipartisan “Phase One” bills and solve the DACA crisis before their time runs out.
HOLD THE LINE FOR DACA: Budget Must Protect DREAMers
We await word on a Senate vote to end the government shut down, expected at noon on Monday. It appears Senator Collins is playing a key role in bringing a bipartisan groups of senators together to find common ground.
Stay tuned for an update after the vote!
DACA: No Clean DREAM Act, No Budget!
Every day that Congress fails to pass a clean DREAM Act, 122 young immigrants lose their DACA protection and become exposed to deportation.
QUICK ACTION: Contact your reps and tell them “NO CLEAN DREAM ACT, NO BUDGET!” and to get to work on passing S. 1615 in the Senate and H.R. 3440 in the House.
Suit Up Maine is an independent, all-volunteer grassroots progressive group that seeks to build a more informed and engaged electorate in Maine. Founded in 2016, Suit Up Maine is run by and for Mainers, and is not engaged in fundraising of any kind. Representing thousands of constituents across Maine’s 16 counties, Suit Up Maine raises awareness of and advocates for policies and legislation that promote equity and equality in civil rights, social justice, health care, the environment, education, the economy, and other areas that affect the lives of all people. Suit Up Maine is beholden to issues and action, not parties or politicians.
