One of our members from Maine forwarded this inspiring story of how Mainers are stepping up to help those in detention. Does your community or state have something similar?
Mainers for Humane Immigration grew out of work that started several years ago. What began as an informal, decentralized group of people connected through protests against family separation and detention turned into people stepping in where gaps showed up, from the US-Mexico border to bus stations in Maine, helping with basic needs, resource connections and sometimes opening our homes. Today, MHI has grown into something I never would have expected.
A few weeks after Trump was sworn in for a second time, I was looking through the Cumberland County Jail inmate list and saw several people being held there for ICE. I kept coming back to the same question: is anyone helping them? I checked that list for several days and watched it grow, with more and more names listed under “INS hold.”
We started reaching out to organizations in Maine and beyond to see what, if anything, was already in place, and found there was very little support. Through those conversations, we began to understand where the gaps were and how we could step in. To do that, we needed structure, so we built it.
On March 20, 2025, we became a 501(c)(3). One month later, we made our first commissary payment. That first payment was for one individual who was being held at Two Bridges Regional Jail. Over the past year, we’ve made 12 deposits into his commissary account. He has been moved four times, experienced repeated medical neglect and ongoing poor health, and each time something is reported, he is transferred again. He is now in Texas, with no resolve in sight.
Since that first payment, we have assisted 218 people in ICE detention, made over 650 commissary deposits across more than 20 facilities from Maine to California, and assisted 12 people in returning to Maine after release.
We’ve supported 56 households impacted by detention and immigration enforcement, including 32 here in Sanford. Most recently, we began assisting with immigration fees for unaccompanied youth. To date, more than $45,000 has gone toward supporting people impacted by immigration detention and enforcement.
This work has been supported by foundations, grantors, and individual donors, including a $10,000 grant from the Nextdoor Foundation, where we were selected as one of five organizations nationwide. We were nominated for that opportunity by the Gather & Give Giving Circle, who first found us as a “hidden gem” and provided a $5,000 grant at a time when we didn’t know if the organization could continue. It has also been made possible by volunteers who answer calls, coordinate support, and keep this work moving.
We are still here, continuing this work and responding to the needs of the people we serve.
Thank you to everyone who has made this possible.
In community,
Marcia