WESTBROOK – As confusion surrounds a state directive that would cut off aid to illegal immigrants, Westbrook officials have defended joining a lawsuit seeking clarification.

Last week, the Maine Municipal Association, along with the cities of Westbrook and Portland, filed suit against the Maine Department of Health and Human Services in response to a June directive that said the state would withhold funding from municipalities that provide general assistance to illegal aliens. In June, Westbrook had 14 households, with a total of 52 people – 31 are children – who would likely be affected by the rule change.

On Wednesday, the Maine Municipal Association released a legal analysis conducted by the Portland law firm Bernstein Shur, which the organization hopes can give municipalities further guidance.

According to Eric Conrad, Maine Municipal Association’s communications director, additional plaintiffs could be joining Westbrook and Portland on the suit, although they are not required. The Department of Health and Human Services has not yet responded to the suit.

In a press release last week, Conrad said the organization believes the suit is “necessary to see whether the DHHS directive is legally binding, as it was issued without the standard and long-followed rule-making procedures that govern virtually every other directive and regulation coming from the state.”

Conrad said Wednesday that the legal opinion from Bernstein Shur is “hopeful” that a judge would decide that the directive did not go through the proper rule-making procedure.

During a weekly radio address in June, Republican Gov. Paul LePage said, “I urge all Mainers to tell your city councilors and selectmen to stop handing out your money to illegals.”

Following the address, Maine Attorney General Janet Mills, who is a Democrat, told municipalities to ignore LePage’s warnings.

According to Conrad, the lawsuit also mentions LePage’s statement delivered to all municipalities on June 20, saying that all state general assistance funding – not just the portion provided to illegal aliens – would be denied to municipalities who do not follow his administration’s directive.

Conrad said the Bernstein Shur legal analysis concluded that it’s “highly unlikely that LePage’s threat to withhold all general assistance funding is valid.”

LePage argued that the directive is to bring Maine in compliance with a federal law that prohibits states from giving aid to illegal aliens. He said that the federal law, passed in 1996, acknowledged that states could make a legislative decision to offer assistance to illegal aliens, but only if they passed new laws.

“The Maine Legislature never passed such a law,” he said.

The state reimburses municipalities between 50 and 90 percent of their spending on general assistance, which goes toward food and housing for those in need.

According to Sarah Lundin, Westbrook’s general assistance coordinator, for fiscal year 2013-14, Westbrook spent more than $135,000 (excluding interpreter costs) on households that would “likely be denied if we were to follow state guidance.” Lundin said this specific group of households represent about 26 percent of the expenditures for the fiscal year.

Lundin said last year’s funds assisted 24 households, which total 94 individuals who would be denied by the directive. Overall, Westbrook has assisted 220 households for a total of 626 individuals. The households that would be denied represent roughly 11 percent of all households assisted.

Conrad, along with Westbrook officials, has stated that the suit seeks clarification, given the difficult situation now facing municipalities.

“If they decline to follow the June 13 DHHS directive, state funds will be withheld. If they abide by the directive, and decline to provide local assistance, lawsuits against municipalities are fairly likely – and local taxpayers could bear the financial consequences,” Conrad said in the release.

Jerre Bryant, Westbrook’s city administrator, said Wednesday that municipalities throughout the state are “caught in a bind” on the issue, adding that he sees the litigation as an attempt to give municipalities clarity.

“(Municipalities) want to move forward with confidence that they won’t do something, end up getting sued, losing, and have no one backing them up because we were following the state’s guidelines,” he said.

Bryant said the city has “no idea” if the governor’s directive is enforceable, and wants a “legally defensible position” that they can rely on.

“Right now we don’t have one. We have the governor’s office, the attorney general’s office, and somewhere in between, we have the Department of Health and Human Services,” he said, referring to the range of conflicting state opinions.

Last week, the Westbrook City Council voted 4-1, with Councilor Gary Rairdon opposed, to join the suit.

The American Journal received two letters this week from readers concerned about Westbrook’s decision to join the suit.

Westbrook resident Rose Marie Russell said Mayor Colleen Hilton’s concern is “misplaced,” stating that she believes it is “just wrong for you to expect the taxpayers, the elderly, and the truly needy citizens of Westbrook to support your administration giving our tax money away.”

Russell said Wednesday that she’d like to see city officials pay more attention to Westbrook’s working class, who “are struggling to make ends meet. People are tired of being taxed heavily and their money being given away.”

She added that the city’s decision to join the suit was unnecessary.

“Surely they could find clarification without taking it to court,” she said. “It sounds like a terrible lack of communication, perhaps on purpose, to make a point.”

Bryant said the label of “illegal alien” is particularly difficult, given the complicated and long process required for immigrants to gain legal status.

“The assumption is that ‘illegal’ means they are willfully breaking the law, and we can’t make a black-and-white issue out of something that is completely gray,” he said.

In early July, Bill Baker, assistant city administrator, said city officials see “a lot of misunderstanding of key issues around immigration and general assistance,” and that Westbrook officials plan to host an educational forum on the issue sometime in the next month or so.

Lundin, who has worked as general assistance coordinator for three years, said she has seen an increase in the need for assistance throughout Westbrook, all while many program changes have taken place. She said the changes, including the introduction of a 60-month time limit for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, and funding reductions for the Low Income Home and Energy Assistance Program, “have certainly played some role in the increases we have seen.”

“Additionally, people continue to struggle to find gainful employment due to barriers like lack of education or experience, childcare, or citizenship status,” she said.