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Portland Sets Guidelines for Welfare for Asylum Seekers

AUGUSTA, Maine — The Portland City Council has enacted new eligibility guidelines for asylum seekers to receive welfare benefits.

A new law went into effect last week re-establishing general assistance for asylum seekers after Gov. Paul LePage failed to meet the deadline for vetoing the proposal.

The law extends eligibility to anyone who's "lawfully present in the United States or who is pursuing a lawful process to apply for immigration relief." The city's new guidelines define "lawfully present" as those who've applied for asylum, or parents, guardians or siblings of an American-born minor or an unaccompanied minor.

But that may not be the end of it. The city's top lawyer expects the city's definition to be challenged and that the city will likely have to go to court to get reimbursement.