Cumberland County Democrats

Order in the Courts: LGBTQ Legal Groups Move Against Discriminatory Executive Actions

The 5th annual Black History Month Community Wellness Fair is next week! The event will be held over two days on February 26-27, focused on the theme Racism: A Public Health Issue. Learn more about the event & register here. Thanks to Cross Cultural Community Services for organizing this critical community event to discuss racism and take action for racial justice and health equity.

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Early on February 21, the Senate advanced a budget resolution that would provide more than $350 billion to the Trump administration to carry out mass enforcement, while making cuts to vital social services programs including health care, student loans, and food assistance.The Senate’s version of the budget is not necessarily the final version. Next week, the House will vote on their version of the budget resolution.Learn more on the latest from the Immigration Hub here.

The Trump administration has frozen funding for unaccompanied children to have access to attorneys in the immigration court system, where the stakes can be life or death.  This leaves 26,000 children – some too young to read or write – without access to their lawyers. It is virtually impossible for a child to understand their legal options or successfully navigate complex legal proceedings alone, without a specialized children’s rights attorney.The program also helps over 100,000 kids get legal orientations, self-help guides and information about their legal options every year.Listen to this recorded press conference to learn more and see our action alert above to contact your Members of Congress and demand funding be unfrozen now.

Multiple news outlets have reported the Trump administration’s devastating deportations of hundreds of people to Panama. They include people from India, China, Uzbekistan, Iran, Vietnam, Turkey, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, with reports from lawyers that they are at risk for their lives if returned to their home countries.Many of the people who were deported are being incarcerated inside a hotel, making signals and putting up signs to the windows begging for help.The administration also deported Venezuelans being held at Guantanamo Bay back to Venezuela, a country facing extreme human rights violations and a total collapsed economy, leaving limited to no access to food and medicine.

Trump signs Executive Order on false narrative that undocumented people have access to federal safety net programs

One of the many false narratives the Trump administration is pushing is that undocumented people are using federally-funded health and social services. In reality, people who are undocumented qualify for very few federal public benefits, and access to these limited benefits is authorized by federal law. And, despite the lack of access to these programs, undocumented people pay billions in federal taxes.This week, the Trump administration signed an Executive Order to study this issue. Experts say that the Executive Order “appears to have the intent of threatening funding authorized under federal law for hospitals, schools, and entire industries and communities.” The ordered “study” of the issue is another waste of taxpayer dollars.

The Trump administration announced on February 20, 2025, it will be ending TPS for Haiti. More information is forthcoming, but the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) states TPS protection for Haitians will end on August 3, 2025. More than half a million people are affected by this decision.This move, following the announcement that TPS for Venezuela will be terminated, is part of the administration’s efforts to eliminate the limited immigration protections and pathways that do exist under our laws. PLEASE NOTE: If you are a Haitian TPS holder, DHS has stated that the end of TPS will be August 3, 2025. More information is expected. Like Venezuela TPS, there will likely be challenges in court. Make sure you are following reliable sources of information, like the Haitian Bridge Alliance.

Venezuelan Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders file multiple lawsuits challenging Trump administration’s termination of their TPS protection

What It Means:Venezuelan TPS holders have filed two lawsuits in Maryland and California against the Trump administration for their announcement that they would be terminating TPS for Venezuela. The lawsuits allege unconstitutional discrimination and procedural violations in the law by the Trump administration, and more.TPS is a program created by Congress decades ago to provide humanitarian protection for people already in the U.S. when safe return to their country of origin is impossible. PLEASE NOTE: If you are a Venezuelan TPS holder, the introduction of these lawsuits has not resulted in any changes yet. Some ways to stay up to date and get accurate information include following CASA and joining the National TPS Alliance.

This week, the Trump administration froze federally funded legal services for unaccompanied children, leaving over 26,000 children without access to their legal counsel. This strands children, some as young as toddlers, without the help they need to succeed in their immigration cases.  Children who arrive unaccompanied by parents or legal guardians often have survived targeted violence, abuse, abandonment, persecution, or trafficking. It is virtually impossible for a child to understand their legal options or successfully navigate complex legal proceedings alone, without a specialized children’s rights attorney.  Click below to contact your Members of Congress and demand access to legal services for unaccompanied children be restored now!

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https://www.mobilize.us/mainedems/event/551294