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Posted on 12/07/2025 8:39:48 PM PST by Red Badger
Post
See new posts Conversation Wall Street Apes @WallStreetApes A man from Somalia came to America, started a nonprofit and opened a “multimillion dollar migrant care service agency”
He’s getting over $5 million per year from American taxpayers, being given no-bid contracts from Maine Governor Janet Mills, and is building a military in Somalia
He has been funneling money back to Somalia to build a military in Somalia
“The guy is running a migrant services agency that bills MaineCare, which is what we call Medicaid, about $5 million a year”
“He said he raised money in the US to buy weapons, munitions, and supplies for paramilitary force he had hoped to lead as the president of Jubaland. Yes, that is a real state in Somalia — and to be clear, in Somalia, he's running to be the warlord of Jubaland. Elections in Jubaland aren't exactly like elections in, America, it's whoever has the most guns is able to certify the election. So he needed to buy a paramilitary organization and paramilitary support in order to win that election.”
- Abdullahi Ali’s Background came to Maine founded Gateway Community Services (a migrant services nonprofit)
- Gateway Community Services received millions in taxpayer-funded MaineCare payments and no-bid contracts from Democratic Gov. Janet Mills’ administration; former employees allege systematic fraudulent billing, over-billing by nearly $1 million in earlier audits
- Governor Janet Mills created the Office of New Americans, whose sole employee (from Sudan) is a former Gateway Community Services staffer
The fraud, kick backs and money laundering by Democrats is just mind blowing.....
VIDEO AT LINK.....................
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p
Was that wrong? Should he not have done that?
https://draali4jubaland.com/about-abdullahi/
About Dr. Abdullahi Ali
Leadership & Community Engagement
Dr. Abdullahi Ali is an accomplished community member and leader, widely recognized for his impactful work and visionary leadership. He is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Gateway Community Services, where he has made significant strides in supporting and uplifting diverse communities. As the Executive Director of the Not-for-Profit wing of Gateway (GCSM), Dr. Ali has further expanded his outreach, ensuring that critical services and support reach those in need. Additionally, he serves as the CEO of LAAFYO Property Development, showcasing his versatility and commitment to community development through various sectors. Dr. Ali is also the founder of Nurture All Africa Foundation, an East-African based non-profit dedicated to empowering communities across the continent. . .
Professional Experience & Advocacy
Dr. Ali’s professional career is marked by his unwavering commitment to advocacy and development. In Kenya, he worked with humanitarian and development agencies, engaging in programs focused on income generation for vulnerable communities, peace education, women’s empowerment, and skills development. His move to Maine did not deter his passion; instead, he brought his vision of inclusivity and community support to the state. Since 2009, Dr. Ali has worked tirelessly with Mainers of all races across the six most populated counties, addressing the needs of populations with mental health issues, BIPOC and immigrant communities, survivors of torture, youth, and families. His ability to create and implement programs that address these diverse needs highlights his dedication to making a tangible difference in the lives of others.
https://draali4jubaland.com/meeting-of-politicians-from-minnesota-and-maine/
Meeting of Politicians from Minnesota and Maine.
June 16, 2024
A meeting held in Minneapolis where Somali politicians from Minnesota and officials from Maine gathered. The officials from Maine attended to participate in the event of the announcement of Dr. Abdullahi Ali’s candidacy. The event focused on uniting and advancing Jubaland, with Dr. Ali emphasizing progress and unity for the region.
Someone should have told him that sort of thing was frowned upon.
p
Oh yeah. Somalia doesn't give them free shit.
Abdullahi Ali has lived a life many refugees only dream about.
He grew up in Somalia, fled to a refugee camp in Kenya as a teenager after civil war broke out in his home country, and was lucky to be placed in a resettlement program that brought him to the United States.
He arrived in Lewiston in 2009 and soon got a job as a receptionist at Catholic Charities, the state’s major resettlement organization. He enrolled in college and then graduate school and started his own business. He moved to Portland, became an American citizen and bought a house.
Others in Ali’s position might be satisfied with those accomplishments and enjoy the new lives they made. Instead, the 50-year-old has returned to Africa, where he’s working remotely in Nairobi while launching a campaign for president of his home state, Jubaland, in Somalia.
Ali said he was inspired to run for the position, similar to the governor of a U.S. state, after a 2021 return trip to Kenya and Somalia. There, he saw crippling poverty in refugee camps and widespread fear and oppression caused by the Al-Shabab terrorist group, which has a heavy presence in Jubaland. . .
Ali said he was permitted to work right away because of his refugee status, and he found a job as a receptionist at Catholic Charities in Lewiston. He worked there for a year before moving in 2011 to Portland, where he took a different job with Catholic Charities as a case manager for fellow immigrants who had survived torture. . .
In his mid-30s, Ali left for the United States through a United Nations refugee resettlement program. A brother and sister also came to Lewiston around the same time through the program.
Ali said he was permitted to work right away because of his refugee status, and he found a job as a receptionist at Catholic Charities in Lewiston. He worked there for a year before moving in 2011 to Portland, where he took a different job with Catholic Charities as a case manager for fellow immigrants who had survived torture. . .
He enrolled at the University of Southern Maine while working at Catholic Charities, and he often took on other jobs as well – sometimes as many as three at once, he said. He worked at Best Buy and did freelance translation and interpretation of the Somali and Swahili languages.
Ali graduated from USM in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in social sciences and a minor in economics. He then earned a master’s degree in justice studies from Southern New Hampshire University and a doctorate in public policy from the Muskie School of Public Service at USM. . .
In 2015, he started Gateway Community Services in Portland and a sister nonprofit, Gateway Community Services Maine.
The for-profit provides behavioral health services, including mental health counseling and case management, as well as services for children with intellectual disabilities. The nonprofit provides similar services for people who are uninsured, along with community and leadership programs for young people. Together, the two organizations employ over 250 people, Ali said.
He said he started the organizations after his work for Catholic Charities made him realize how much the immigrant community was struggling with mental health. . .
Reza Jalali, a consultant on immigrant issues and former executive director of the Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center, got to know Ali through their mutual work at organizations led by and serving immigrants.
“He’s done amazing work here in Maine in terms of advocacy and starting his nonprofit, which has become a leading immigrant-founded, immigrant-run organization, but that’s not enough for him,” said Jalali, a former refugee from Iran. . .
After coming to Maine in 2009, Ali didn’t return to Kenya or Somalia for years except for a trip in late 2018 to visit a sick aunt. But in 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he decided to return to Africa, work remotely and visit friends. . .
Ali said he is seeking to succeed Ahmed Mohamed Islam, who was elected in 2013. But if and how that could happen is unclear in a country where the transfer of power looks very different than it does in the United States.
“I am so hesitant to use the word ‘elections’ because that conjures in the mind of the reader a certain degree of political normalcy that we understand here in the United States,” said Abdi Samatar, a professor of geography and the environment at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, who researches democracy and development in Africa.
Minnesota, Maine, Ohio and Washington are among the states with the largest concentrations of Somali people in the U.S. As of 2020, about 221,000 Somali immigrants were living in the country, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. . .
Freeing Somalia from Al-Shabab is his biggest priority, Ali said. . .
Maine state Rep. Deqa Dhalac, a Democrat who in 2021 became the first Somali-American mayor when she won the top elected post in South Portland, agreed that Ali’s education and career in Maine could be positively viewed by people in Somalia, but cautioned that the political process doesn’t work the same way.
“It’s a good question,” Dhalac said when asked about Ali’s chances. “In Somalia, they don’t have what we have in the U.S., with clean elections and one person, one vote.”
Dhalac said Ali is a leader in Maine’s Somali community and described him as smart and engaging, the type of person who organizes a Ramadan celebration and collects money for family members when someone dies. . .
Ali said many people in Somalia admire the United States’ democracy and political stability and would like to see those things in their own country. Others disagree with American foreign policy and response to conflict, such as the war in Gaza, and they view the U.S. as anti-Muslim – though he said that perception has changed as more Somalis have settled in America. . .
Somali-American Received Millions in U.S. Taxpayer Dollars, MaineCare Funding While Claiming to Bankroll Jubaland Militia
Edward Tomic and Steve Robinson contributed to this report
Maine Wire StaffBy Maine Wire StaffMarch 21, 2025Updated:March 21, 2025
. . .In an an interview with Kenyan media, Ali had previously boasted of his efforts to raise funds for para-military forces in Somalia, forces he hoped would back his claim to power should he win the presidential election.
“When I was in the U.S., I contributed to the financial support for the Jubaland-Somali army. To help the troops buy weapons, bullets and food,” said Ali.
“I helped pay my share of the fund,” he said. . .
At the same time Ali was helping finance arms deals in Somalia, he was also serving as the executive director and nominal head of Gateway Community Services, LLC and Gateway Community Services, Maine.
Ali’s taxpayer funding, political connections, and boasts about funding Somali arms deals raise questions about whether U.S. taxpayer dollars were involved in paying for paramilitary activities aimed at influencing Somali elections, as well as whether Ali acted as an unregistered foreign agent while receiving millions in taxpayer dollars.
According to records obtained via the Freedom of Access Act, Gateway Community Services, LLC received $28.8 million in payments via MaineCare, Maine’s version of Medicaid, from 2019 through 2024, including $4.1 million last year, while Ali was running for office with his militia in Somalia.
In April 2020, the LLC received $693,382 in taxpayer dollars under the Paycheck Protection Program, funding that allegedly backstopped 127 full-time jobs.
Other documents show that Gateway, while it was being run by Ali and Assistant Executive Director Rep. Deqa Dhalac (D-South Portland), owed a debt to the Maine Department of Health and Human Services of nearly $800,000 due to improper payments the company received under MaineCare. According to a March 2022 letter to Ali, a sample audit of reimbursement claims Gateway filed with MaineCare found a 36 percent error rate, resulting in Gateway receiving an estimated $903,938.95 in improperly paid taxpayer dollars.
It’s unclear from the letter whether that debt was ever settled. . .
Although Dhalac appears to no longer work for Ali at Gateway, the pair appear to remain close. Both Dhalac and Ali accompanied Office of New Americans Director Tarlan Ahmadov on a controversial junket to Azerbaijan, paid for by the government of Azerbaijan.
Neither Dhalac nor Ali have responded to inquiries about the trip to Azerbaijan.
Ali and Dhalac have also ignored questioned about whether U.S. tax dollars were used to finance Ali’s support for Somali arms, munitions, and para-military troops.
A search of U.S. Justice Department records for the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) does not show any indication that Ali ever registered as a foreign agent during the time when he claimed to have raised money in the U.S. for the benefit of Somali para-military groups. . .
When the Maine Wire began making inquiries to Ali about Gateway Community Services and his claim to have funded arms deals in Somalia, Ali deleted his personal Facebook page and his LinkedIn account.
However, his “Dr. Abdullahi Ali for President, Jubaland State, Somalia” Facebook page remains active and continues to document his international exploits, including his March 8 visit to the Saudi embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, and his Jan. 16 meeting with the Pakistani Ambassador to Ethiopia, Atif Sharif. . .
Although Ali has spoken positively about his time in Maine and the United States, he has joined other Somali refugees in Minnesota and dedicated time and resources to heavy involvement with politics in his native country.
In June, Ali traveled to Minneapolis to hold a political event with Somali politicians from Minnesota, another state that has a large Somali diaspora population, to announce his candidacy for president of Jubaland.
Images published to social media as part of Ali’s candidacy show him walking with multiple men dressed in camouflage fatigues and carrying what appear to be AK-47s. Other photos published on his campaign account show what appears to be an armed convoy. . .
Ali did not succeed in his Jubaland presidential bid and his attempts to contest the results of the election were not successful. However, questions remain about exactly how he managed to finance both his political operation, extensive travel, and the arms and soldiers backing his militia.
In addition to legitimacy and broad suffrage, Jubaland’s elections also lack campaign finance disclosures, so there’s no available record — other than Ali’s public comments — to indicate precisely how his campaign and militia were funded.
Ali did not respond to an email asking how managed to finance his armed para-military group. . .
A review of Ali’s business records, as well as records related to his associates, suggests a web of businesses and non-profits that have either failed to take off or operated under the radar. In addition, some businesses operating out of his 501 Forest Ave location in Portland have connections back to Minnesota.
In addition to Gateway, Ali has formed several for profit ventures, including Gateway Communications and Financial Services LLC in 2018, Boundless Media LLC in 2020, Thinkdelivery, LLC in 2018, and Laafyo Consulting LLC in 2023.
According to federal records, only Gateway Community Services LLC was approved for a $687,500 PPP loan on April 11, 2020, a loan that was forgiven in Feb. 2021.
The federal records indicate that the loan helped save 127 jobs in the “All Other Miscellaneous Ambulatory Health Care Services” industry.
Similarly, Ali’s nonprofit — Gateway Community Services, Maine — was approved for a smaller $11,200 PPP loan on May 4, 2020, which was forgiven in May 2021. The low amount of the loan for the non-profit is odd, considering the non-profit arm of Gateway reported paying $527k in salaries and wages in 2021.
Thinkdelivery LLC, a shipping and courier company, was previously known as Deliveryplus LLC.
Most of these businesses operate out of 501 Forest Ave in Portland. One other business also shares that office address: Language Access Providers LLC, a translation service provider operated by Abdifatah Afrah, who also worked for more than two years at Gateway.
Although Language Access Providers LLC boasts of “serving the immigrant communities of Maine and beyond since 2017,” the company’s website lists three team members, Meet Nouf, First Name Last Name, and First Name Last Name — suggesting the company either has no team or has yet to complete its “Team” section.
Afrah appears to have significant connections back to Minnesota, where he has been involved with other health care, transportation, immigrant services and housing firms.
For example, Unity House Living L.L.C., formed in Oct. 2023 in Minnesota, list Abdifatah J. Afrah as a director, but lists a mailing address at 46 Tall Pines Dr. Apt 4, Lewiston, ME.
Gateway Community Services was awarded a $363,000 grant from the Maine DHHS under their “COVID-19 Vaccine Equity” initiative.
[RELATED: Maine DHHS Looks to Spend $200k on COVID-19 ‘Vaccine Equity’ Program…]
Gateway was among a multitude of immigrant services nonprofit organizations that received hundreds of thousands of dollars under the initiative:
Maine Access Immigrant Network: $181,000
Maine Association For New Americans: $363,000
Maine Immigrant and Refugee Services: $470,300
Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition: $689,000
New Mainer’s Public Health Initiative: $330,500
According to Maine DHHS, the grants were awarded specifically to prioritize agencies that can provide services in languages other than English.
State Audits Show Gateway Community Services Overbilled MaineCare
Documents from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) show that under the leadership of Abdullahi Ali and Deqa Dhalac, Gateway Community Services came under scrutiny and underwent multiple audits for significant over-billing of the taxpayer-funded MaineCare program.
According a review of the audit findings, including the case level overpayment information, many of the improperly billed services included translation services Gateway couldn’t prove were actually provided.
The documents show that Gateway was cited for overpayments totaling nearly $1.1 million across two audit periods, with a third review reducing one of these amounts after appeal.
The first audit, covering Nov. 1, 2015, to Oct. 14, 2016, was detailed in a Notice of Violation (NOV) dated November 7, 2017. The DHHS Program Integrity Unit reviewed 240 randomly selected claims out of 3,795 submitted by Gateway, focusing on services like interpreter assistance, community integration, comprehensive assessments, and behavioral health counseling.
Findings from the DHHS included missing or incomplete documentation, such as unsigned assessments and individual service plans, late-signed progress notes, and billing for non-covered services like translating mail or vocational support.
The audit initially identified an overpayment of roughly $171,000, calculated from a 35.36% error rate applied to $564,068 in total claims, adjusted downward to account for sampling variability.
Gateway appealed this finding, triggering an informal review. On July 23, 2018, DHHS issued a Final Informal Review Decision, reducing the overpayment to just over $125,000 after accepting additional documentation for 21 claim lines.
However, issues persisted with interpreter services, where Gateway billed MaineCare $80 per hour despite paying interpreters $40, exceeding the customary rate allowed under MaineCare policy.
A second audit, spanning Jan. 1, 2017, to Dec. 31, 2018, resulted in a much larger overpayment claim. The NOV, dated March 22, 2022, examined 244 of 275 randomly selected claims from a universe of 20,932, covering interpreter services, targeted case management, and outpatient therapy.
Issues mirrored the earlier audit: missing or inadequate documentation, non-covered services like transportation or reading mail, and discrepancies in billing times.
The review found a 35.64% error rate, applied to $2,536,140.04 in total payments, yielding a preliminary overpayment of $903,938.95. Adjusted downward by $127,916.74, the final demand was about $776,000.
Gateway, State Representative Deqa Dhalac and the Office of New Americans
Rep. Dhalac, herself an immigrant to the U.S. from Somalia, worked as the assistant executive director of Ali’s Gateway Community Services until at least 2023.
Dhalac was reelected to her second term representing House District 120 last November, and holds a key position on the Maine Legislature’s Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee, responsible for overseeing the state’s budget and fiscal policies.
A May 2022 Facebook post by Gateway Community Services announced her hiring to the position, stating that Dhalac would be “leading the strategic planning, board engagement, community-wide planning and partnership building for the organization.”
It appears as though Dhalac no longer works at Gateway, as her most recent state legislator income disclosure form no longer lists her position at the organization.
Dhalac is also the co-founder of the Portland-based Cross Cultural Community Services, a DEI consulting nonprofit, and is the vice president of the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition, representing a network of over 100 immigrant advocacy groups.
Dhalac also spearheaded the standalone bill to form Gov. Janet Mills’ Office of New Americans, the state migrant resettlement office. Although that legislation failed to pass, funding for the office was included in the budget passed at the end of the last legislative session.
Ekhlas Ahmed, who was recently appointed by Gov. Janet Mills as a policy analyst within the Maine Office of New Americans (ONA), was featured as a community health worker for Gateway Community Services in a 2021 testimonial video published by the nonprofit
Ahmed, who resettled in Maine through Catholic Charities after fleeing the civil war in Sudan in 2005, said in an April 2024 interview that she vows to “fight for Sudan” with all her capacities and advocated against the assimilation of immigrants. . .
Money-laundering ping.
Great finds you dug up about this creep.
https://rc.dream.press/ekhlas-ismail-ahmed/
Ekhlas Ismail Ahmed
State: Maine
City of Residence: Portland, Maine
Country of origin: Sudan
Arrival in the U.S.: 2005
Ms. Ekhlas Ahmed was forced to flee the outbreak of civil war in Sudan with her mother, father, and three younger brothers in 2003. Her family was resettled to Portland, Maine, where she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations and Sociology from the University of Southern Maine, and currently works for AmeriCorps as a high school ELL teacher. Ms. Ahmed is the vice president and co-founder of Darfur Youth of Tomorrow, an organization raising awareness in her community of the violence and needs in Darfur. This year, Ms. Ahmed organized an “Abaya Day” at her high school to combat the negative stereotypes of Muslims in the media. She says she is most proud of working with youth in her community through her service in AmeriCorps.
Word for US: Blessed
* * *
https://www.portlandmainealumni.org/ekhlas_ahmed_cbhs
Ekhlas Ahmed, CBHS
Kendra Kuehl
posted by Kendra Kuehl | 5sc
January 12, 2024
When Ekhlas Ahmed speaks of life before her arrival to Maine, she remembers a happy childhood in Sudan, filled with simple pleasures like walking to school with friends. But in 2003, when armed rebellion against the government in Darfur resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians, the Ahmed family escaped to Cairo. They were later resettled in Maine through Catholic Charities. . .
Knowing the profound impact of caring teachers on her own success, Ahmed became passionate about helping other immigrants find their footing in this new culture. After attending Southern Maine Community College and the University of Southern Maine, she returned to Casco Bay High School as an Americorps volunteer teaching English while working on her Master’s.
She then taught English for two years in Westbrook, leaving to found Chance to Advance, a not-for-profit dedicated to uplifting the voices of immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. In 2019 she surprised her parents by buying a home for the family in Windham. Knowing how reluctant they were to take on a mortgage, Ahmed later got a real estate license just so that she could explain the American concepts of home ownership to her African friends.
Ahmed travels often–bringing school supplies to Sudan and exploring the Middle East with fellow Westbrook Middle School teachers Kelsey Grover and Katya Nash. At the beginning of this month, she became Director of Community Engagement for the Cultural Alliance of Maine. “I live a very busy and full life,” she says.
UN Refugee Agency Spotlights Ahmed in 2017
Ekhlas Ahmed on the Ellen Degeneres Show in 2017
https://www.midcoastforum.org/speakers/reza-jalali/
Reza Jalali
Monday, November 15 at 12 Noon (Point Lookout)
Topic: Iran-U.S. Relationships: Hopes and Fears
Reza Jalali
Reza Jalali, is a Kurd from Iran, a human rights and refugee activist who has lived in Maine since 1985. He was prominently recognized in Making it in America: a sourcebook on eminent ethnic Americans (©2001by Elliott Robert Barkan). His essays, short stories, and commentaries have appeared in the local and international newspapers. As a member of Amnesty International USA Board of Directors, Jalali led delegations to different refugee camps in Turkey and Bosnia. He has participated in numerous United Nations-sponsored international conferences in Korea, Japan and Austria.
In 1992, he visited the White House as part of a national delegation to discuss the plight of Kurdish refugees fleeing Iraq. Jalali is one of the contributing writers to Child Labor: A Global View (©2004, Greenwood Press), the multimedia production Middle East Suitcase Project (©2005, Center for Cultural Exchange), and The World of Child Labor: An Historical and Regional Survey (©2009, M.E. Sharpe Inc.) Jalali wrote the Foreword to New Mainers (©2009, Tilbury House, Publishers) a book on immigrant’s experiences in Maine. His first children book, Moon Watchers, was published by Tilbury House, Publishers in June 2010. Jalali’s forthcoming book, God Speaks in Many Accents, is about the religions that Maine’s immigrants have brought with them to their new home in the U.S. Jalali has been included in “50 In 52 Journey”, a national project to name “Americans who are problem-solvers, idea-generators in their communities, in their cities, and in their States and are moving America forward.
Reza teaches Islam at the Bangor Theological Seminary and is the Muslim Chaplain at Bates College. Reza is employed at the University of Southern Maine in Portland, Maine.
Updated: March 8, 2021 On The Record
On the Record: Portland immigrant center head says it’s ‘ultimately about workforce integration’
By Renee Cordes
Iran-born writer, educator and community organizer Reza Jalali succeeded the late Alain Nahimana as executive director of the Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center. He spoke with Mainebiz about the center’s multi-pronged mission and his vision for it.
Mainebiz: How did you originally connect with the center?
Reza Jalali: I was a fan and a supporter. As an immigrant, I was a stakeholder. I watched it grow with admiration. I appreciated its mission and vision for the community and felt represented.
MB: What should readers know about the center’s mission and programs?
RJ: The Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center, which was established in 2017, serves as a hub of collaboration that strengthens the immigrant community through language acquisition, economic integration and civic engagement.
We have four distinctive programs: The Co-working Hub houses a dozen or more immigrant-owned businesses, nonprofits that serve New Mainers, community programs, and so on. It offers the tenants network opportunities. The digital language lab, iEnglish, helps with language acquisition. It supports local organizations to have their non-English speaking employees reach proficiency in English.
The Civic Engagement and Citizenship assists immigrants to get involved in their communities’ civic life, by voting and joining boards and commissions. Finally, our Business Hub acts as a low-barrier resource for those wanting to start or expand businesses (read: creating jobs).
Ultimately, we are about workforce integration in the Greater Portland area.
MB: What are your plans for the center’s Immigrant Business Hub?
RJ: We hope to bring visibility to Maine’s immigrant-owned businesses and their contributions to the state’s economy. Research shows immigrants, compared to their native-born counterparts, are more likely to start businesses. That’s the universal story across the United States.
Our Business Hub is designed to elevate the immigrant business owners. We help them to access loans, engage in best business practices including bulk buying, better bookkeeping, and marketing, among others. We host a fund that was started by an immigrant entrepreneur, that offers low-interest microloans to help those interested in expansion of the enterprises. We believe the future of our beloved state depends on the success of family-owned small businesses, some of which are owned by immigrants.
MB: How will the 2021 edition of your “New Mainers” book differ from the 2009 version?
RJ: When the first book came out, there were hardly any Iraqi, Syrian or French-speaking African immigrants calling Maine home. Together with my co-author, Morgan Rielly, we discovered there were new faces, and new stories to be told. Also, the national narrative related to immigration, which continues to be contentious, and the attention — positive or negative — it receives, deserved a new book to be written. I believe the successful integration of immigrants in Maine can become a national model and a source of pride for all Mainers.
MB: Looking back to your time as a newly arrived immigrant, what lessons from that experience resonate with you today?
RJ: Back then, I felt invisible. And not valued. Despite the fact that I had two college degrees, from universities where every subject was taught in English, I had to start my life in America cooking in a restaurant, selling vacuum cleaners, followed by working the graveyard shift in a factory and attending classes during the day, and so on.
There were a few services to serve the immigrant communities and they were all charity-based, meaning I was seen as someone in need of help, rather than a person who could contribute and add to the richness of society. Now it is much better — Portland is at least an accepting place.
MB: In filling Alain Nahimana’s shoes, how will you carry on his legacy?
RJ: Our co-founder started a path that we continue to follow. He would be proud of our work as we move forward, committed to uplifting and advancement of those arriving in Maine in search of safety and human dignity. After all, we offer the world’s displaced people a second chance.
https://volunteer.uwmcm.org/agency/detail/?agency_id=57750
Who We Are
Inspired by scripture and the Church’s social teaching, Catholic Charities empowers and strengthens individuals and families of all faiths by providing innovative community-based social services throughout Maine. Catholic Charities Maine began in 1966 and has grown to include over 25 programs and services in over 15 locations throughout the state of Maine.
What We Do
Each day, the employees and volunteers of Catholic Charities Maine come to the aid of the poor and vulnerable across the state of Maine. We are one of the largest statewide, private, nonprofit, human service agencies in Maine. Each year, our 700+ professionals and 500+ volunteers help more than 52,000 Mainers. We serve, employ, and engage people of all faiths. In 2013,
-186 volunteers processed donations for our Threads of Hope Thrift Stores-131 volunteers supported seniors through our SEARCH program
-114 volunteers assisted New Mainers through our Refugee and Immigration Services program
-109 volunteers served on boards or committees or helped with special events
-31 volunteers enriched the lives of children at our child development centers: St. Elizabeth’s CDC & St. Louis CDC
-24 volunteers increased food security for Mainers by serving at our Food Bank and Farm for ME
-17 volunteers assisted with substance abuse recovery efforts through our Substance Abuse and Mental Health Counseling Services program and St. Francis Recovery Center
-14 volunteers provided mental health services through our Support & Recovery Services program, Adult Mental Health Services program, and our Children’s Case Management program
-1 volunteer transcribed children’s educational materials into braille for our Education Services for Blind and Visually Impaired Children program
-1 volunteer provided emergency services referrals and assistance to Mainers in need who called our Relief & Hope Services, a program of Parish Social Ministry
To explore more of our programs and services, please go to http://www.ccmaine.org and click here to review our current volunteer opportunities!
Details
(207) ***-****
(207) ***-****
****@ccmaine.org
Kelly Day
Director of Volunteer Services
* * *
Catholic Charities Maine - Refugee and Immigration Services (Portland Office)
Location:
80 Sherman St
Portland, ME 04101
Website:
http://www.ccmaine.org
Email:
cmugabe@ccmaine.org
Phone:
(207) 871-7437
Fax:
(207) 871-7465
Contact methods:
Email, Phone calls
Appointments accepted:
No
Catholic Charities Maine - Refugee and Immigration Services (CCMRIS) is Maine’s only Voluntary Agency (Volag), providing refugee resettlement services for primary refugees, and limited services to granted asylees, in Maine. In addition CCMRIS provides limited services to secondary migrants in Portland and Lewiston, Maine.
State served:
Maine
Services Provided
Areas of immigration legal assistance:
Adjustment of Status, Employment authorization, Family-based petitions, Naturalization/Citizenship
Types of immigration legal services provided:
Help completing forms, Filings with USCIS
Non-legal services:
Employment services, ESL, Health services, Language services, Office Of Refugee Resettlement (ORR)-funded services for trafficking victims, Referrals to other services
Populations served:
Human Trafficking Survivors, Torture survivors
Languages spoken:
English, French, Over 40 languages available through Catholic Charities Maine Language Partners interpreter services
Access to a commercial interpreting service or language bank:
Yes
Nominal fee charged?
Yes
Other information:
Primary populations served are refugees and asylees, with a focus on elderly, age 60 and over. Services provided to other immigrants based on program expertise and capacity to provide services in a timely way.
Volunteering
Volunteer Coordinator
Kelly Day
(207) ***-****
****@ccmaine.org
* * *
https://www.ccmaine.org/refugee-immigration-services/about
Many of the refugees who have been resettled in Maine in recent years have fled from war or genocide in their home countries, including Somalia, Sudan, and Iraq. They sought safety in neighboring countries and refugee status through the United Nations before they were placed in refugee camps to await resettlement in another country. Many of them have been waiting years, and in some cases decades, to be resettled. (Learn more about refugees and asylees here.)
Throughout the state, although concentrated in Portland, RIS is contracted to provide primary refugees with initial resettlement (30-90 days post U.S. arrival) and limited ongoing case management and employment services (up to 60 months from U.S. arrival).
In Portland, RIS is contracted to provide limited case management (up to 60 months from U.S. arrival) services to secondary migrants and asylees who have been in the U.S. for less than 30 days. Those over 30 days are served by the City of Portland Refugee Services.
In Lewiston, RIS is contracted to provide limited case management (up to 60 months from U.S. arrival) services to secondary migrants which are the majority of the cases in that city.
* * *
https://dailybulldog.com/features/refugee-resettlement-program-discussed-at-commissioner-meeting/
Refugee resettlement program discussed at commissioner meeting
by Ben Hanstein
March 3, 2020March 3, 2020
FARMINGTON – County Commissioners were provided with a presentation on the federal refugee resettlement program by representatives of Catholic Charities Maine, with one commissioner indicating that he would now support Franklin County’s inclusion in the program.
On Feb. 4, Commissioners Terry Brann of Wilton and Clyde Barker of Strong voted to not accept federally-resettled refugees in Franklin County. The vote was taken in the context of Executive Order 13888, which was issued by President Donald Trump on Sept. 26, 2019. The order requires states and localities to consent in writing to the resettlement of refugees. The order was then blocked by a federal judge in Maryland on Jan. 15 with a preliminary injunction, and is not currently active.
Brann and Barker both said at that time that they were concerned that a large number of refugees could be settled by the government in Franklin County without adequate support.
On Tuesday, Stephen Letourneau, the chief executive officer of Catholic Charities, and Hannah DeAngelis, the director of the organization’s refugee service program, attended the commissioners’ meeting to provide an overview of the program. Both representatives indicated, both at the meeting and in a letter sent to commissioners last month, that Catholic Charities Maine had no plan to resettle refugees in Franklin County.
“There’s absolutely no plan today or in the foreseeable future to expand the refugee program to Franklin County,” Letourneau said.
Commissioners Terry Brann, left, and Clyde Barker listen to representatives from Catholic Charities Tuesday.
The vast majority of refugees were settled in Cumberland County, Letourneau and DeAngelis said, due to that region’s capacity, resources such as school programs and interpreters and community partnerships that had been developed over time between Catholic Charities and local organizations. While refugees were occasionally placed in Augusta and Biddeford if family members lived in the area, the representatives said, they would not place refugees somewhere they wouldn’t be set up to succeed.
“It’s unfair to the community and it’s unfair to the refugee,” Letourneau said.
Catholic Charities Maine is contracted by the federal government to place refugees in the state of Maine. Refugee status is assigned to people who can prove they have a well-founded fear of persecution in their home country, and should not be confused with other immigration statuses, such as asylum seekers. Refugees were picked through interviews conducted by the United Nations, then waited in refugee camps for potential admittance into a country.
This year, DeAngelis said, 18,000 people will be admitted into the United States through the refugee resettlement program. One hundred of those refugees will settle in Maine; DeAngelis said that 22 had already arrived as of Oct. 1, 2019, the start of the program’s year.
Refugees were screened by the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Bureau of Investigation prior to being transported into the country, DeAngelis said. That screening included checking into backgrounds and comparing refugee statements regarding their fear of persecution with historical information from their previous county. There was also a health screening process.
DeAngelis said that Catholic Charities received notice from the U.S. State Department two weeks before a refugee arrived at the Portland Jetport. Federal funding reimbursed costs associated with getting the refugees settled for the first 90 days: housing, clothing, food and referrals for medical services, to learn English and education or vocational training. Unlike asylum seekers, who are not allowed to work per federal requirements, refugees can begin working immediately.
Secondary support could be provided over a five-year period after the 90 days, DeAngelis said, including services relating to long term integration and language skills.
A common misconception, Letourneau said, was confusing the refugee program with other forms of immigration, such as asylum seekers. Several hundred asylum seekers arriving in the Portland area last year resulted in the city opening up a temporary shelter and prompted the state to expand General Assistance eligibility. Executive Order 13888 only applies to the refugee resettlement program. . .
Catholic Charities Maine Touts Taxpayer-Funded Migrant Resettlement Plans
Catholic Charities received more than $20 million in taxpayer funding in 2021
Edward TomicBy Edward TomicDecember 15, 2023Updated:December 15, 2023
Two executives from Catholic Charities Maine joined a panel discussion this week hosted by Refugees International and the Women’s Refugee Commission to discuss how the nonprofit works to resettle refugees and asylum seekers in the state.
Catholic Charities has been doing refugee resettlement work since 1975, and is one of three agencies in Maine that are approved to resettle refugees in the state, alongside Maine Immigrant and Refugee Services (MEIRS) and the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine.
In early October, the three resettlement agencies announced that they had been approved to resettle double the amount of refugees in fiscal year 2024 (FY24) than they did in FY23.
Catholic Charities Maine received $29.7 million in contributions in 2021, according to the most recent public version of the organization’s Form 990 tax filing.
Of that funding, $13.6 million came from government payments and $7 million came from Medicaid, a taxpayer-funded medical welfare program.
Per that 2021 tax filing, CEO Stephen Letourneau made more than $170,000, dentist Meredith L. Davis-Pound made roughly $144,000, and orthodontist Burton L. Rankle made more than $215,000. . .
Julie Allaire, Chief Program Officer at Catholic Charities Maine, described to the panel how in July 2022, Catholic Charities launched a pilot program at the behest of the state for transitional housing for “asylum-seeking families.”
“It is adapted based on our best practices on refugee resettlement,” Allaire said. “And the idea was really to test a purpose-built model of case management, coordinated services, and housing.”
“We created and are running this pilot, the state funds the contract, and the City of Portland’s General Assistance office determines eligibility for participation in the program,” she said.
“And what’s unusual in Maine is that asylum seekers are eligible for General Assistance,” Allaire explained.
General Assistance is a form of voucher-based welfare that is administered by municipal governments but funded mostly through state tax revenues.
“So as the General Assistance budgets were under more pressure due to growing unhoused populations, the state was looking for ways to take pressure off this budget, and that’s where this idea evolved from,” she said.
Allaire said that at the time of the launch of their 2022 pilot program, “asylum-seeking families” comprised the “largest portion of the unhoused population” in Maine.
The Catholic Charities executive outlined the funding model of the transitional housing program, in which the state provides funds via contracts with Catholic Charities, hotels, and a “large network” of contracts with other organizations which provide various services to migrant families.
Joanna Testa, program director at Catholic Charities Maine, then described the process asylum seekers go through when they enter into the organization’s transitional housing program.
“As soon as families arrive from the City of Portland, whether from overflow shelters or other overflow placements,” Testa explained, “they have some of their belongings inspected in an educational process with our residential staff to examine whether or not there may be any bugs that are being brought into the facility.”
“We try to eliminate that before people are actually brought in,” she said, adding that they “do some education” with the asylum seekers on proper food storage.
Following the inspection, Catholic Charities does a “rules orientation,” by introducing the migrant families to “some of the U.S. law around the supervision and discipline of children as well as domestic violence episodes.”
This is done, Testa explained, so that the migrants “have that information right from the beginning and understand what the expectations of shelter are” in the facility.
Catholic Charities then works with the migrant families to maximize the amount of taxpayer-funded welfare the families receive.
That effort includes determining their eligibility and to signing them up for various welfare programs, including General Assistance, medical assistance, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance. Program (SNAP) a.k.a. Food Stamps, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
The organization also does on-site school and English language class registration for migrant families, as well as partnering with the Maine Center for Disease Control to make sure the children have all vaccinations needed for public school attendance.
Additionally, Catholic Charities connects the migrant families with volunteer attorneys to aid them in correctly filing their asylum applications, helps them to apply for work authorization 150 days after filing their asylum application, and works with “housing navigation partners” to find permanent housing for the migrant families.
Two Catholic Charities Maine experts will join a national panel exploring “A Better Approach Toward Reception of People Seeking Asylum”
December 13, 2023
Two Catholic Charities Maine experts, Chief Program Officer Julie Allaire, and Program Director Joanna Testa, were featured in a panel discussion hosted by Refugees International and the Women’s Refugee Commission exploring how displacement throughout the western hemisphere is growing, and increasing numbers of people seeking safety and better lives for their families have come to the southern border of the United States over the past several years. Meanwhile, federal and local reception policies have adapted but remain incomplete and contested.
The virtual event highlighted challenges and best practices that should drive the development of a humane and sustainable reception policy. Speakers addressed how to coordinate efforts by federal and local governments and NGOs to strengthen long-term support for newcomers and their U.S. communities.
Event Sponsors and Moderators:
Yael Schacher, Refugees International (https://www.refugeesinternational.org/), author of forthcoming report “From Crisis to Possibility: Moving Beyond an Emergency Approach to Reception of Asylum Seekers in the United States”
Katharina Obser, Women’s Refugee Commission, (https://www.womensrefugeecommission.org/), co-author of forthcoming report “Opportunities for Welcome: Lessons Learned for Supporting People Seeking Asylum in Chicago, Denver, New York City, and Portland, Maine”
Speakers:
Julie Allaire, Chief Program Officer, Catholic Charities Maine
Joanna Testa, Program Director, Catholic Charities Maine
Camille Mackler, Executive Director of I-ARC, New York
Kate Clark, Senior Director of Immigration Services, Jewish Family Service of San Diego
Atim Otii, Director, Denver Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs
You may watch the recorded webinar here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdZ_9L81WeU.
He and some of his accomplices have the same background and MO, I’m seeing (in Maine, Minnesota, and elsewhere): connect with the network of immigration attorneys and funding through contacts at the UN and Catholic Charities, tap into the resources to get established in the US, start a charity or business front, secure government funding from state and federal political contacts and nonprofits, funnel the money overseas.
https://now.org/justice-at-our-border-addressing-the-hazards-of-living-as-undocumented-women/
Why is immigration reform a feminist issue and what can allies do to better educate themselves on what comprehensive immigration reform should look like in our country?
Our second conversation will explore the hazards of being undocumented – everything from the challenges of accessing reproductive health care to the real danger of domestic abuse and sexual assault.
We invite NOW members and ally activists to join us for these important conversations as we continue our efforts to “Unlock the Future” and learn more from our expert partners on the next steps we can take to create meaningful change.
Keynote Speakers:
Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren
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Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal
H.Res. 64: This resolution expresses the sense that it is the federal government’s duty to develop and implement a Roadmap to Freedom immigration reform plan by (1) promoting full citizenship, (2) protecting and strengthening a fair process centered on family unity, (3) promoting and preserving diversity by encouraging immigration from underrepresented countries, and (4) establishing a just and humane system to uphold immigration laws.
Speakers
Catherine Hinshaw, Communications and Policy Associate at Justice for Migrant Women
Catherine is from North Carolina and first discovered her passion for policy and public service during a Washington, D.C. experience in high school. Moving to D.C. in 2016, she joined the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda where she led digital engagement and supported advocacy on issues including immigration, labor, and women’s rights. Most recently, Catherine managed state government affairs at the American Planning Association, working with community planners to elevate their community’s priorities in state capitols across the country.
Knowing her neighbors and building relationships are important to Catherine, so she prioritizes that in all aspects of life. Catherine holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and in Spanish from Furman University.
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Yasmin Campos-Mendez, Public Policy Manager at Esperanza United
Yasmin is originally from a small town in the central valley of California, called Ivanhoe. Ivanhoe is a very small and rural town, where most of the population is Latin@ and Spanish speaking. Her parents migrated to the central valley from Mexico and are farmworkers in her hometown.
Her areas of expertise include advocacy/policy around Immigration and ending gender-based violence. For many years, she did direct-service work with immigrant Latin@ survivors, and throughout the years, has developed a strong understanding of the importance of advancing justice for immigrant latin@ survivors. This has motivated her to matriculate from direct-practice social work to macro policy social work to advocate for legislative change for all survivors. She is also very interested in transforming the ways in which social service providers respond to survivors and their children when experiencing domestic violence.
Katharina Obser, Director of Women’s Refugee Commisions’ Migrant Rights and Justice Program
Katharina Obser is the director of the Women’s Refugee Commission’s Migrant Rights and Justice program, where she advocates on the national level for the rights of women, children, and families seeking protection. An expert on US immigration detention, she writes and presents frequently on immigration detention and refugee protection issues, and has researched and authored numerous reports on asylum, detention, and case management alternatives to detention in the United States, as well as the European refugee response. She previously researched and advocated on immigration detention issues at Human Rights First, where she also worked to expand access to legal representation nationally for asylum seekers and immigrants, and earlier coordinated Human Rights First’s pro bono legal representation program for indigent asylum seekers in the Washington, DC, office.
Katharina holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and French from the University of Michigan, and a master’s degree in forced migration studies from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa.
Kate Clark, Senior Director for Immigration Services at Jewish Family Service of San Diego
Kate Clark is the senior director of immigration services and lead immigration attorney at Jewish Family Service San Diego (JFS). In these roles, she advocates on behalf of San Diego’s refugees and asylees and assists the immigrant community at-large in applying for various immigration benefits. Clark is also a founding member and sits on the steering committee of the San Diego Rapid Response Network (SDRRN), a coalition of more than 40 nonprofits and faith-based organizations formed in response to increased immigration enforcement activity in the region. The network operates a 24-hour hotline for emergency assistance related to checkpoints, raids, arrests and harassment, and connects affected people with resources. Clark also provides pro-bono legal consultations and representation to vulnerable families and individuals placed in the “Remain in Mexico” program known as Migrant Protection Protocols. In recognition of her work, Clark was selected as one of San Diego City Beat’s “People of the Year” in 2018.
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As bad as all the grifting by Somalis is, I wish there 1/10 the outrage for buying everything MADE IN CHINA to put beneath the Christmas shrub. Keep funding the people’s red army.
They’re colluding -——their “get the money” routine is bring replicated over and over.
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