Immigrants Make America Great Says This Button, Despite What Trump Thinks..

Soccer fans will gather at 12 pm on Wednesday, June 17th at Aura Sport Grill, 121 Center Street, Portland, in anticipation of the 1:00 pm kickoff of the FIFA World Cup match between CongoDR and Portugal.  The watch party is co-hosted by the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition (MIRC) and New England Africa Arts & Entertainment Community Association (NEAECA) of Congolese-led organization based in Portland.

In addition to their enthusiasm for what soccer legend Pele called “The Beautful Game,” these fans are also gathering to highlight the need for those traveling domestically and internationally to understand their rights while traveling for FIFA-related events.

This has become increasingly urgent in the face of extreme immigration enforcement policies and dragnet tactics that they have seen across Maine over the past year, exemplified by the arrest of Congolese community leader and Cumberland County employee Billy Bassikissa last week.

MIRC and NEAECA support what human rights groups intentioally have called an ICE truce during World Cup events.  MIRC has joined groups across New England in issuing a travel advisory and called on the regional FIFA host commitee to addrress these concerns, sending them over 500 letters already.

The Travel Advisory points to 10 examples across New England and nationally over the past year that highlight serious cause for their concern.  Asylum-seeking New Mainers from the two Congolese countries make up a significant portion of those impacted by the current administration’s focus on African and Latin Americana immigrants, according to MIRC’s recent report.