Immigration advocates say it's unclear what the Trump administration's pause on all asylum decisions means for communities in Maine.
"I don't know what that means on the ground at the courts or in the various asylum offices around the country," said Anna Welch, founding director Maine Law's refugee and human rights clinic.
The Trump administration took the action in the wake of the shooting of two National Guard members by an Afghan asylee in Washington, D.C. last week, and said the pause will last until the federal government can "ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible," according to a social media post Friday from the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Welch said the policy will likely draw legal challenges.
"Folks who are fleeing persecution or have a fear of persecution in their home countries have a statutory right — a legal right — both under U.S. and international laws, to seek asylum," she said, adding that refugees and asylees are already some of the most heavily-vetted immigrant groups.
There are more than 8,400 people with pending asylum claims in Maine, according to a database run by Syracuse University.
According to the non-partisan Migration Policy Institute, immigrants have historically had lower crime rates than the U.S. born population.
