Maine Implements Rent Assistance Program for Migrants

January 16, 2024 TruthUSA

Maine state authorities are paying rent for migrants in one coastal town, it was reported.

The state budgeted nearly $3.5 million to provide 60 migrant families in Brunswick with two years of rent, The National Desk (TND) reported.

The money is part of a $55 million Emergency Housing Relief Fund, which issues immigrants permanent, transitional, and emergency housing.

The Maine State Housing Authority (MSHA) is leading the program, which essentially will pay the rent for asylum seekers.

“We have thousands of folks coming to Maine who want to make Maine home,” MSHA Executive Director Dan Brennan told WCSH. “We’re doing everything we can to help that situation.”

Maine Immigrant and Refugee Services (MEIRS) also is supplying $100,000 to dozens of migrants in Brunswick, South Portland, and Lewiston for a year’s worth of asylum application and work authorization assistance, the National Review reported.

The Brunswick apartment units are to house migrants as they wait to receive work permits.

“Through this program, family members work together to support each other’s goals and achieve long-term stability with the help of a bridging case manager/coach,” according to a Joint Select Committee on Housing report, TND reported.

A total of 60 new apartment units are being built in five buildings, with 24 apartments complete.

“In [a] hotel, there are rules and regulations,” Esther, a woman from Nigeria, told WCSH. “In a shelter too, we have so many people. We share the kitchen together. We share the restroom together.”

Brunswick Human Services Director Deb Crocker said many of the migrants have lived in shelters and hotels for at least the past year.

TND reported the United Way of Mid Coast Maine is also seeking to launch a bus program to transport the migrants.

“It could be running to the grocery store or doctors’ appointments,” Executive Director Nicole Evans said, WGME reported. “We truly hope everyone in the community will raise their hand to help however they can.”

Maine is one of many states that has seen an influx of migrants since the crisis at the southern border under President Joe Biden.

Encounters by Customs and Border Protection officials with illegal immigrants at the border surged to another record in December.

A CBP source told Newsmax there were about 302,000 encounters at the southern border in December, surpassing the record for a month of 269,735 in September. The official data likely will be released publicly by the agency later this month.