Employers, business advocates, and immigration lawyers in Maine say President Donald Trump's work permit restrictions will hurt employers and workers in the state.
Over the last year, the administration has shortened the timeframe for work permits, eliminated automatic extensions, and ended eligibility for certain groups of immigrants.
During a virtual press conference organized by the national advocacy group WorkPermits.US on Thursday, Maine State Chamber of Commerce president Patrick Woodcock said those changes hurt workers who are already participating in the state's economy.
"The idea that we could have a lapse in work authorizations because of just bureaucracy is going to undermine our state's economic growth," he said.
The latest data from the American Immigration council estimates there are about 34,000 thousand immigrant workers in the state, though not all would be impacted by the work permit rule changes.
Ben Conniff, with Luke's Lobster, said immigrant workers are vital to the state's seafood processing industry.
"If an administration wants to be pro-business, wants to care about affordability, wants to keep the economy moving and does not appreciate needless red tape, then they will absolutely walk back these new rules," he said.
In addition to shortening eligibility periods and ending automatic extensions, the Trump administration is reportedly considering an "indefinite pause" on work permit processing altogether for asylum seekers, according to Christina Morena, policy counsel at WorkPermits.US.
