THE COASTAL PACKET: Why Maine needs to help immigrants

Thursday, April 18

Why Maine needs to help immigrants

Portland Press Herald -You have probably heard this argument: We can’t afford to help immigrants when there are people who were born here who are also in need.

But the people who say it have got it backward: Because we have people in need, we can’t afford not to help immigrants.

Thats why we support L.D. 1317, a bill which would restore eligibility for basic services administered by the state to people who are in Maine seeking asylum.

.... Maine is one of the few states that records more deaths each year than births. The only reason that our population is stagnant and not actually declining is in-migration. We are also the oldest state in the country based on median age. If people age out of the workforce and no one is there to take their place, our economy will shrink, and we will be less capable than we are now of caring for the people who the last administration labeled “truly needy.”

In the face of hysterical rhetoric from anti-immigration extremists, lawmakers should take the opportunity this bill provides to speak up for Maine’s future.

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