Immigrant survivors already faced substantial barriers to seeking help, including language barriers, financial dependence, social isolation and concerns about their immigration status. Predictably, events over the last year have worked to make those barriers insurmountable for most. Victims in Maine are not reporting crimes, not seeking or renewing protective orders and are hesitant to seek out community services.
The Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence and advocates across the state work with state and local law enforcement every day. While our experience is that most members of Maine’s law enforcement are committed to ensuring that crime victims can safely reach out for help, regardless of the color of their skin or their immigration status, public trust has been shattered by chaos and fear intentionally spread by the federal administration and the many documented cases of voluntary cooperation by local law enforcement.
All survivors deserve and are entitled to access safety, support services and legal protections regardless of immigration status. Our doors are open to all; our services are free and confidential and do not require a victim to make a report to law enforcement.
Rebuilding trust and ensuring that survivors feel safe seeking help remains critical to protecting victims and holding offenders accountable. Much work lies ahead, and while we all have a role to play, Maine’s new law is key.
It is a tangible and visible step for rebuilding that trust in Maine’s local law enforcement, and it couldn’t be coming at a more critical time.
Co-authored by MCEDV Executive Director Francine Garland Stark and Public Policy Director Andrea Mancuso.
Published August 12, 2026 in the Portland Press Herald.