AUGUSTA, Maine — Republicans in the Maine Legislature called a Tuesday news conference to criticize tens of millions of dollars in housing relief that has gone to asylum seekers over the last few years.
But as members bashed Democrats, the open conversation with reporters revealed relatively few concrete solutions from the minority party and different messages from hardliners and other Republicans looking to find long-term housing fixes while handling thousands of asylum seekers who have moved to Portland, Lewiston and smaller communities in recent years.
It was the latest reminder of how the related issues of housing, labor shortages and immigration in Maine — the nation’s oldest state — continue to frustrate policymakers in both parties and prove difficult for either party to solve. A state report last year found Maine needs to build at least 76,000 homes by 2030 to house existing and future residents.
What the Republican lawmakers did agree on Tuesday — at a news conference billed in advance as revealing “open border costs” — was opposing the roughly $34 million in housing support and rental assistance the state has directed to asylum seekers since 2022. That is out of $55 million in total the Democratic-led Legislature and Mills have added to the fund that is managed by MaineHousing and separate from additional federal assistance programs.
Several members also called for the relief fund to direct more money to permanent housing rather than emergency shelters and temporary housing, criticizing what they viewed as large per-person costs for temporary housing.
Scott Thistle, spokesperson for MaineHousing, said the quasi-state agency provided Republican lawmakers with the housing cost breakdown at their request. But Thistle noted funding for asylum seekers makes up less than 3 percent of the more than $1 billion MaineHousing distributed in housing and housing-related support in the past three years.
The housing dollars for asylum seekers, who must wait at least six months after filing an asylum application to receive work authorization under federal laws that Congress has failed to change, “soak up a lot of taxpayer money that could have been going to other things,” Senate Minority Leader Trey Stewart, R-Presque Isle, said.
“It is a federal process that’s absolutely broken, but that doesn’t mean we have to enable it,” Stewart said.
He criticized “liberal states” like Maine for offering “a lot of government programs and a lot of free money.” The state has been noted nationally for some of the most generous benefits to asylum seekers, who can get General Assistance for up to two years here.
House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham, R-Winter Harbor, alluded to the Mills administration’s plan before the Legislature to create an Office of New Americans tasked with helping bring immigrants into the workforce.
Faulkingham criticized prioritizing “migrants over Mainers” and claimed Mills wants to welcome 75,000 asylum seekers by 2030. A state economic development plan actually identified a need to add 75,000 people from both inside and outside of Maine to the workforce by 2030.
“Illegals,” chimed in Rep. Shelley Rudnicki, R-Fairfield. (Asylum seekers, whether they enter the country legally or illegally, are allowed to remain until their asylum cases are resolved.)
Republicans grew testy Monday when reporters asked several times about their proposed solutions, with few specifics other than Stewart calling for Maine to prioritize “qualified individuals” from other states who can work immediately.
“Don’t invite them in,” Faulkingham said of asylum seekers.
But a divide in messaging emerged between hardliners like Faulkingham and members with more nuanced thoughts, such as Sen. Matt Pouliot, R-Augusta. Pouliot, a real estate agent who is not seeking reelection this year, explained he is not opposed to people coming into Maine but would like to see more accountability in spending and more directed to permanent housing.
The state must ensure “we have a pathway to prosperity” for new residents and ensure “they are going to learn the skills that are necessary” to work in Maine, he said.
He mentioned a teenager who fled the war in Syria at age 10 and later moved to Maine. Pouliot said he helped teach the young man, now 19 years old, about real estate after his high school reached out to share he was interested in the career field. The teen now studies business at Central Maine Community College, Pouliot said.
“I would like to create more systems to help create more stories like Ahmed’s story,” Pouliot said.