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	Podcast:		Maine Things Considered
	Episode:		Asylum Seeker Allowed to Compete In Poetry Competition
	Category:		Government & Organizations
	Duration:
	Publish Date:		2018-04-20 16:04:33
	Description:		A federal judge says that a Portland student seeking asylum from Zambia can participate in a national poetry competition after he was initially barred by organizers due to his immigration status. Last month, 19-year-old Deering High School student Allan Monga won Maine's Poetry Out Loud competition, where students memorize and recite poems for cash and prizes. But the National Endowment for the Arts said Monga was ineligible to compete in the national finals because he wasn't classified as a "U.S. citizen or permanent resident." Monga arrived in the United States last summer seeking asylum from Zambia, and he's still pursuing his asylum claim. In response, Monga sued the National Endowment for the Arts last week to allow him to compete in the national finals. He says the eligibility rules are discriminatory toward him and other asylum-seekers. "And if you cannot have them in this competition because they don't have the proper legal status in the U.S., it's just discrimination, in some
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