PORTLAND, Maine - A federal judge says that a case challenging Republican Gov. Paul LePage's policy on municipal welfare benefits for immigrants will stay in state court.
LePage's administration had tried to have the case moved to federal court because it said that federal issues are involved. But U.S. District Court Chief Judge John Woodcock ruled Thursday that the case belongs in state court.
The Maine Municipal Association and two cities filed the lawsuit in the Cumberland County Superior Court in July. It challenges the administration's directive that municipalities not provide general assistance benefits to immigrants who are living in the country illegally.
LePage's administration has threatened to withhold all general assistance reimbursements to communities that fail to comply with the directive.
