The Portland City Council at their next meeting will consider launching a $40,000 indoor soccer program for the asylum-seeking migrants living in the city’s emergency homeless shelters.
According a City Council memo, the Maine Community Foundation, a non-profit, has offered to put forward a $10,000 donation to the city to cover the initial costs of launching the migrant soccer program, which is estimated to have a year-round cost of $40,000 following the pilot.
Hearts of Pine, the professional soccer team who launched their inaugural season this year and whose home field is Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland, will be organizing the pickup soccer games.
“The initiative is a collaborative effort between several City departments and local organizations aimed at supporting, fostering economic development, and providing mental health and life skills support,” the memo reads.
“Hearts of Pine will play a central role in this initiative by organizing soccer pickup games and serving as the community-focused professional soccer team for the men,” it reads.
“They will also provide necessary soccer equipment such as balls, pinnies, and goals, fostering community engagement and teamwork. Hearts of Pine will be in attendance at each session to manage and help organize the activities, ensuring smooth execution and active participation.”
The memo indicates that there are approximately 150 female and male asylum seekers residing in Portland’s emergency shelters that would be the target population for the soccer program.
“The City of Portland Shelter Program will recruit asylum seekers, transport them to the gym, and cover any associated costs,” the memo states.
Those asylum-seeking migrants are located at the 166 Riverside shelter, the 179-bed homeless shelter opened in November 2023 that is designated specifically for single migrants, the construction of which was funded by a $4.59 million grant from the Maine State Housing Authority.
It was recently revealed that the city will be saddled with providing services at the migrant shelter, after the city’s agreement with the nonprofit Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition (MIRC) to take over shelter operations fell through due to lack of funding.
Tae Chong, who is the “Multicultural Markets and Strategies Consultant” at the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, proposed the migrant soccer program to the Maine Community Foundation in an email dated Jan. 13 of this year.
In the email, Chong indicates that the cost of the program will not only include money for staff to open and clean the gym in which the asylum seekers will play, but also to have “guest speakers” who will speak to the migrants about “how to take care of yourself mentally and physically during these trying times as well as advise asylum seekers on how to integrate into the US while waiting for work authorization.”
In a Facebook post from February, Chong also heralded this proposed program as part of a broader strategy of resistance to the immigration policies of the Trump administration, though he didn’t spell out how specifically the soccer games will counteract enforcement actions.
The pilot indoor soccer program, if approved by the city council on Monday, is expected to launch this month.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="38753 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=38753">16 Comments
Maine Community Foundation– who are these people?
Hearts of Pine
Does not support American Kids why should we support them or their games.
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I sure hope the people of Maine wake the hell up!!! Before it’s too late!!! This is pure liberal insanity !!! We’re already taxed to death here, and with no end in sight but more increases in taxes!!! Is this financially responsible spending??? Do we really need this shit???? Do we really want to become massachusetts or California??
This will make it easier to found them up,
STOP THE STUPID STUPID STUPID SPENDING!!!
How many illegal aliens/bogus asylum seekers can be shipped back to where they came from for $40,000.00 ?
So yeah, bring in illegals in Maine to play indoor soccer, makes total sense to me….just like universities welcoming all these different nationalities to improve their soccer teams….!! and if they’re homeless they can just live right there on the indoor sanctuary soccer mats …yeah, yeah, … that’s the ticket.
Portland Men to form soccer team at your expense…
Perfect place for ICE to gather this SCUM UP !
FORCE the group who dumped them off on Portland, Catholic Charities, to pay and keep this program going. That way there the city taxpayers wouldn’t be burdened.
They already have a dedicated van service for the asylum shelter. Let the Hearts of Pine cover all the costs. The bus lines go right by Fitzy anyways. It’s crazy we can’t even keep family homeless shelters open in other counties but we spend money on this. Portland raises my taxes to hand out money to non citizens constantly
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Well isn’t that just special Maine State housing authority gave a $4.59 grant for illegal asylum seeking single males.
Isn’t that just special?
Why couldn’t homeless American citizens been granted housing instead of housing illegals?