- DHS is finalizing a rule on October fifteenth, twenty twenty-six, that would restrict automatic work-permit extensions for many immigrants.
- Workers whose cards expire before renewal approval may have to stop working unless an exception or separate work authorization applies.
- Immigrants generated two point twenty-five billion dollars in personal income across studied Maine industries from twenty twenty through twenty twenty-four.
Maine immigrants who rely on employment authorization documents could lose the ability to work while renewal applications remain pending under a federal rule being finalized on October 15, 2026. The Department of Homeland Security proposal would make permanent the administration’s 2025 move to end or sharply limit automatic extensions for many workers.
The change would affect workers whose current cards expire before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services approves a renewal. Some categories or cases may qualify for exceptions. The rule would not automatically cancel every worker’s authorization.
The agency says it wants to ensure “proper screening and vetting.” Panagioti Tsolkas, an organizer with the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition, said the prospect of losing pay during processing would undermine people’s ability to support themselves.
“Stripping people's certainty about whether or not they're allowed to actually go to work and collect a paycheck for their work, you know, it has the effect of creating a second-class citizen,” Tsolkas said.
Tsolkas also warned that Maine employers could feel the effects. He pointed to food production, hospitality, construction, health care and other essential services that rely on immigrant workers.
“Many of Maine's key industries that the state's so well known for rely on immigrants with work permits, and so that's thrown into uncertainty,” Tsolkas said.
The Maine State Chamber of Commerce raised a related concern in written comments, warning that the proposal could create “unnecessary gaps in employment authorization for Maine workers.” Such gaps can also complicate employers’ Form I-9 reverification duties.
A pending renewal may not bridge the gap after a card expires
Under the prior policy, some workers who filed a timely Form I-765 renewal could keep working for a prescribed extension period while USCIS processed the application. The new rule would restrict that bridge for many categories.
If a worker’s card expires before approval and no exception or separate work-authorized basis applies, the worker may have to stop working. Employers generally cannot knowingly continue employing someone who lacks current authorization.
Federal law sets the employment-verification framework. INA § 274A, 8 U.S.C. § 1324a, bars employers from knowingly employing a person who is not authorized to work in the United States. DHS regulations address employment authorization in 8 C.F.R. § 274a.12 and related verification matters in 8 C.F.R. § 274a.13.
The final regulation’s details will shape which workers face a gap. Key questions include the EAD category, whether the application was filed properly and on time, the filing date, any remaining extension exceptions, and how the rule treats renewals already submitted.
The effective date will also matter. A person’s expired EAD, pending renewal and underlying immigration status are separate legal questions. An expired card does not by itself establish that a person has lost immigration status, but a pending application alone may not authorize continued employment.
A Maine workforce report measures a broader economic exposure
A separate study commissioned by the Maine Office of New Americans and prepared by Wallace Economic Advisers estimated the economic contributions of immigrants across industries. It found that 33,079 foreign-born workers in the industries studied generated about $2.25 billion in personal income and $177 million in state income-tax revenue during 2020–2024.
The report estimated immigrant employment supported nearly 74,000 jobs statewide and nearly $15 billion in total economic output. It identified food production, housing, hospitality, construction, health care, blueberry processing, lobstering and tourism among the sectors involved.
The study also modeled potential workforce reductions and annual economic losses under three scenarios. These are estimates tied to enforcement and workforce withdrawal, not projections of the EAD rule’s specific effects.
| Scenario | Modeled workforce reduction | Estimated annual economic losses |
|---|---|---|
| Low impact | 840 workers | $395 million to $3.3 billion across scenarios |
| Middle | 5,037 workers | $395 million to $3.3 billion across scenarios |
| High | 7,050 workers | $395 million to $3.3 billion across scenarios |
The report’s loss range spans all three scenarios; it does not assign a separate dollar amount to each workforce-reduction figure. Gov. Janet Mills said the findings raised both humanitarian and economic concerns, while Julia Trujillo Luengo, director of the Maine Office of New Americans, said the study aimed to establish shared facts about immigrants’ economic contributions.
Patrick Woodcock, chief executive of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, said employers want to grow but face worker shortages. He said Maine needs to welcome and integrate authorized workers into its workforce.
A former state epidemiologist’s case shows how a gap can reach the workplace
David Abafi, an immigrant and former Maine CDC epidemiologist, temporarily lost work authorization in 2025 after an immigration filing was denied. The state terminated him during that period.
His authorization was restored around July 2, 2025, approximately three months after the termination. An arbitrator later found the firing violated the applicable union agreement, and Maine has asked a court to overturn that ruling.
Workers approaching an EAD expiration should check their category, renewal timing and any transition provisions, and keep the receipt notice and prior card. The rules can turn on the individual filing and immigration category, so affected workers may want an immigration attorney or accredited representative to review their circumstances.
This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Consult a qualified immigration attorney about your specific case.
