STATEWIDE — Immigrants to Maine face many barriers as they transition to a new country.
A member of a new coalition of business owners, trade association leaders and representatives of higher education said one of the goals of the Maine Compact on Immigration is to make it easier for professional immigrants to work in Maine.
Maine Chamber of Commerce President Dana Connors said immigrants have played vital roles in Maine’s history.
“To me, more than anything else, it simply reflects Maine values of fairness and family as well as the economic reality of the role that immigration plays in our state’s economic success,” he said.
A recruiter for a healthcare organization said when professionals such as doctors and nurses move to Maine, they often face many roadblocks to being able to practice their chosen profession.
“And many have practiced clinical work in their own country and then they get here and they have those skills, but they can’t practice here in Maine because there’s so many barriers to being credentialed in Maine,” said Krystle Bowden, a recruiter for Penobscot County Health Care.
One of the members of the group said it’s a priority to “make Maine the best destination for immigrants.”
