Maine’s ongoing effort to resettle non-citizens will get a $5.4 million boost thanks to a Biden-Harris Administration grant that will provide taxpayer dollars to house, feed, and provide other services to migrants recently released from U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) custody.
On Wednesday, Aug. 28, DHS, alongside the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that they had allocated over $380 million in grants nationwide to support the federal Shelter and Services Program (SSP).
[RELATED: Mills Admin, Nonprofits, and Big Biz Back New Migrant Resettlement Agency for Maine…]
Last week’s slate of SSP grants comes in addition to nearly $260 million distributed by the DHS through the program in April, bringing the total spending on the program for fiscal year 2024 to about $640 million.
The United Way of Southern Maine, which partners with Catholic Charities Maine to provide services to migrants, was allocated $5.4 million through the second tranche of fiscal year 2024 SSP grants, on top of the $255,000 the nonprofit received through the program earlier this year.
“Our community’s most vulnerable members face the interconnected challenges of food insecurity, housing instability, and lack of transportation,” said Liz Cotter Schlax, President and CEO of United Way of Southern Maine in a press release.
“United Way is grateful to be able to access these Federal resources on behalf of our neighbors and the organizations serving them directly,” Schlax said.
[RELATED: Maine Governor Wants to Resettle 75,000 Foreign-Born Migrants in Maine by 2029…]
According to publicly available tax filings, both the United Way of Southern Maine and Catholic Charities of Maine receive significant percentages of their funding from taxpayers while paying high salaries to top executives.
In 2022, the recent year for which its Form 990 is available, Catholic Charities of Maine received $2.2 million in government grants. The migrant resettlement organization took in another $16.9 million in government payments — likely payments for migrant services — as well as $8.6 million for Medicaid services offered to clients of the organization, including migrants.
The United Way of Southern Maine received $2.9 million in government grants, according to its most recent Form 990 tax filing. According to the tax document, Schlax, the CEO of the migrant resettlement group, earned $188,857 in that year.
Administered by FEMA, SSP allocates taxpayer dollars to non-federal entities, such as state and municipal governments and nonprofit organizations, to fund housing, food, clothing, medical care, transportation and other services for noncitizen migrants.
The program is operated in coordination with CBP in order to prevent the overcrowding of short-term holding facilities along the borders of the U.S., which are used to detain and process apprehended migrants — either for admission into the country, expedited removal, or for a referral to an immigration judge to commence removal proceedings or adjudication of a migrant’s asylum claim.
According to data from the Syracuse University Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), as of July 2024 there was a backlog of over 3.7 million active cases before U.S. immigration courts, with about 1.5 million of those pending cases being for asylum hearings.
Currently, non-federal entities are only allowed to use the SSP funds on services to migrants within a 45-day period after the migrant is released from DHS custody.
In December 2023, U.S. Senators from Maine Angus King (I) and Susan Collins (R), alongside Democratic Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (ME-01), wrote a letter to President Biden’s DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas requesting that the 45-day limitation on SSP funding be extended to 180 days.
King, Collins and Pingree argued in their letter that the 45-day restriction is “inappropriate for migrant destination locations like Maine.”
[RELATED: King, Collins, Pingree Request DHS Rule Change to Help Fund Shelter and Services for Migrants…]
“Maine immigrant services groups struggle with the 45-day limitation because migrants arriving in the state have typically been released from DHS custody many days prior, reducing the period in which these individuals and families may receive support,” the members of Maine’s congressional delegation wrote.
Speaking on the House floor in June, Rep. Pingree advocated to move $600 million from the construction of border fencing to pay for more migrants to be bused into Maine, and to pay for migrant housing and expenses through the FEMA program.
Pingree said in her remarks that the SSP funding “moves people from the congestion at the border to cities all over our country, and it is a way to support that going on.”
“So as far as I’m concerned, this is just a common sense way to deal with the number of asylum seekers who want to come into our country today, and we should continue to support it,” Pingree added.
Rep. Pingree has also introduced legislation that would reduce the current 180-day waiting period for asylum-seeking migrants to apply for work authorization to 30 days.
dont worry folks the plan is to draft them to fight in “non combat roles” during the next world war, and replace americans who die fighting. in the end “you will own nothing and be happy”… because your alive
Maine Wire = Never say dirty jew. Distract your low info readers with China, China, China.
“Maine has a new federally approved refugee resettlement agency. The jewish community alliance of Southern Maine… The jewish community alliance has been approved to work with up to 125 refugees over the next year, joining Catholic Charities Maine as the second resettlement agency in the state“
https://www.mainepublic.org/news/2021-11-03/jewish-community-alliance-becomes-second-refugee-resettlement-agency-in-maine
Easu reads the Maine wire, apparently he’s a low info reader.
Mainers had enough yet? Has the DemocRATS-Marxists screwed you over enough? No, well you can vote them back in November and make Maine East Coast California. Good job Mainers!!
These directors of the non-profits draw huge salaries? And here I thought they were just altruistic and working for the good of the community and trying to help these deserving “new Mainers”. I’m shocked!
We should be making preparations to change the name of Portland to Portlandistan. Much like London, we’re not going to be able to recognize the city thanks in part to these Three Stooges and their accomplices at Catholic Charities and The United Way.
This is what can expect to happen here in the near future:
https://barenakedislam.com/2024/09/03/the-mayor-of-london-is-muslim-how-long-before-the-prime-minister-of-britain-is-also-a-muslim/
It would have been a lot cheaper to build the wall. Lots of taxpayer money being spread around tonmake.some NGO’s very wealthy.
ILLEGALS, NOT IMMIGRANTS!!!
Get a spine!
Illegal aliens. Not immigrants. They are here illegally!!!!!
One of the most consequential reasons for the fall of ancient Rome was that they had allowed anyone in their open borders and then when it came time to defend the country, the “immigrants” refused to fight. Rome had spent tons of money on them and yet they wouldn’t fight for Rome.
Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.
Phew. We need these folks to do all the hard work white folks won’t do. Americans have become so lazy. It’s one thing to not want to work hard. It’s another thing to not want to have other people in America who will work.
White, MAGA GOP need to stop getting mad at migrants for doing the hard labor white people won’t do.
Ok Issac Dye , pay attention this is an easy lesson …Stop making it so easy to get WEFARE and the natives will go back to work OR Starve to Death . Now for the Retards that are entirely uninformed about the current INVASION.. HIAS (Hebrew Immigrant Aid Services ) is the #1 Aid provider to the ILLEGALS flowing thru the Darren Gap …providing maps and contacts to ILLEGALS for their entry into the U.S. …. HIAS here in Maine is represented by Jewish Community Services …. both groups are dedicated to the destruction of the United States , Both groups are Communist ..Want to know who is in charge ? Find out who you can’t criticize … then you’ll get your answer …
We are suffering with rent, food and bills. We get no help. No money. Yet they are helping people from other countries with our money bullshit.