Specifically, Senator Collins is working to find alternative means to bring players from Canada to Maine to play for the MAINEiacs, a junior hockey league team that is important to the economy of the Lewiston area. Hockey players and the team's coach, who would normally come to the U.S. with an H-2B temporary workers' visa, have been unable to obtain their visas because the statutory national cap on the number of these visas has already been reached. Senator Collins is the Chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, which oversees the Department of Homeland Security.
"This meeting was very positive and everyone seemed to share the same goal of helping the MAINEiacs to get their full team together in time for training camp," said Senator Collins. "It was the first big step towards helping the Canadian hockey players get out of limbo and onto the ice. It is encouraging that all the interested parties were able to meet with DHS officials to figure out a resolution."
Representatives from Senator Collins' office, including the Staff Director of the Governmental Affairs Committee, attended the meeting with Homeland Security representatives, the Mayors of Lewiston and Auburn, and the Vice President of the Lewiston MAINEiacs.
Following the meeting, Senator Collins pledged to work on a short-term solution to make certain that the MAINEiac hockey players can enter the U.S. in time for training camp. She is also working on broader solutions to the shortage of H-2B visas, such as increasing the national cap and possibly expanding or creating a visa category specifically for non-professional athletes.