Show of HandsShow of Hands

badattitude January 30th, 2019 1:26am

Portland, Maine has long offered a generous hand to immigrants. But Maine’s largest city, population about 67,000, is now struggling with an influx of asylum seekers to the point where a local official is discouraging people from heading here.

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DonWichita Kansas
01/30/19 5:05 am

Sanctuary cities & states ask for it... Load em up, but use your own dime and not mine. Don't expect a bail-out when your citizens are broke.
Feels good on the tongue, but the reality is that the sanctuaries cost us all.
Sanctuary cities & States must be penalized.

Reply
nacho1 Logic Land
01/30/19 8:33 am

Local and state support for illegal immigrants stops at the bank - then they want help fixing a problem they created - as if no reasonable person saw it coming.

TheSpookyGhost paleoconservative
01/30/19 4:45 am

How else are they going to keep Maine blue? More and more white people are voting Republican.

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UniversePlan Michigan
01/29/19 7:45 pm

This user is currently being ignored

badattitude no place like home
01/29/19 7:55 pm

Maybe. There should be farm work there.

nacho1 Logic Land
01/29/19 8:13 pm

All the blue states that support illegal immigration should “support illegal immigration” and stop whining about it.
I thought we were all supposed to be economically and culturally richer for the experience of hosting illegal immigrants.

UniversePlan Michigan
01/29/19 8:20 pm

This user is currently being ignored

nacho1 Logic Land
01/29/19 10:12 pm

California, Virginia, Washington, Oregon, New York, Mew Jersey, Illinois among others are all in for expanded rights for illegal aliens.

In state tuition, drivers licenses, health care access are all signals of welcome and support to illegal aliens.
Or does it send a message that the rule of law is followed here?

Your turn.

diest
01/29/19 6:30 pm

The demographic shift in this country is unpreventable .

diest
01/29/19 6:31 pm

You think the wealthy are going to help you

diest
01/29/19 6:32 pm

U think bitching about it on SoH is going to change a thing

badattitude no place like home
01/29/19 6:32 pm

I’m just asking the question. You’re wealthy, what do you think?

badattitude no place like home
01/29/19 6:33 pm

The Wall Street Journal is asking the same question. When is enough enough? You can help people in need. But are you willing to give up your bed?

diest
01/29/19 6:36 pm

Your thinking small, but it’s over . There’s always a hungry mouth or needed blanket

badattitude no place like home
01/29/19 6:38 pm

Of course there is. What’s your limit? Are you willing to give up your bed?

badattitude no place like home
01/29/19 6:39 pm

Can we save the world by bringing them all here?

diest
01/29/19 6:42 pm

No, does it have to be the whole world .

diest
01/29/19 6:44 pm

It’s your life spend as u want

BriDads Stop Getting Offended
01/29/19 6:45 pm

Caucasians are predicted to become the minority in the next 25 years. So yes, America is changing.

diest
01/29/19 6:46 pm

Ppl generally know the difference. When hate and unjust violence get involved. And you seem to resort too it . And don’t care

BriDads Stop Getting Offended
01/29/19 6:47 pm

There will always be hungry Americans however we have this mindset that illegals take priority over Americans now. Economically speaking.

diest
01/29/19 6:48 pm

That’s the last time I’ll be civil with a picture from 20 years ago

TrueAmerican7 I Am Galt.
01/29/19 6:51 pm

1. Socialism is great, until you run out of other people’s money.
2. Under Socialism (and it’s inevitable ugly cousin Communism) the only “rich guys” remaining have no intention of helping out anyone, much less the populace they duped and enslaved.
3. deist/deistgroup is not wealthy, most likely due to a combination of severe drug abuse and willful ignorance (yes, I’m aware that the vast majority of SOH users recognize his incoherent babble for what it is)
4. Though his is an extreme case, it’s paramount that we take note and realize that future generations (sans the narcotics) are being miseducated into embracing the same policies that have led to the deaths of hundreds of millions.

.

badattitude no place like home
01/29/19 7:09 pm

Why is it the middle classes burden of the United States to finance a welfare state for the rest of the planet?

BriDads Stop Getting Offended
01/29/19 7:11 pm

Sad how all 4 of those points are true

TrueAmerican7 I Am Galt.
01/29/19 7:19 pm

Thank you both!
Evil’s best tool is envy.
Never relent in the attack against those willing to achieve on the basis that all should bask in effort’s glory.

nacho1 Logic Land
01/30/19 8:30 am

The left can never answer how many is enough just like they don’t want to know how many are here and are fighting tooth and nail not to find out.

badattitude no place like home
01/29/19 6:27 pm

U.S.
Maine’s Largest City Strains Under Asylum-Seeker Influx
Portland, long welcoming to immigrants, is running out of shelter space, funds
PORTLAND, Maine—This community has long offered a generous hand to immigrants.
But Maine’s largest city, population about 67,000, is now struggling with an influx of asylum seekers, to the point where a local official is alerting shelters in other parts of the country to discourage people from heading here.
“The word is out there that our community is open to that population and has some assistance programs,” said David MacLean, administrator of Portland’s Social Services Division. “Our local resources are not able to keep up.”
Asylum seekers, who are primarily from African countries, now make up 90% of the people living in Portland’s city-run family shelter and overflow shelter, where new arrivals sleep on mats. A city fund that assists with necessities is dwindling fast, and pro-bono lawyers are overwhelmed with cases, Mr. MacLean said.

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badattitude no place like home
01/29/19 6:29 pm

Portland’s strain comes as the number of asylum requests, in which people ask to be allowed to stay in the U.S. for humanitarian reasons, has ballooned. That is contributing to the well-publicized bottleneck at the Southwest border and the political clash over it.

Portland’s challenge is expected to drive new debate around immigrant assistance in the state, where Democrats recently gained control of the legislature and the governor’s seat.
Legislation recently filed by Democratic state Rep. Michael Brennan would beef up state assistance to asylum seekers. He said it would give them flexibility to settle in other Maine communities that need workers in the fast-aging state.
But Jacob Posik, communications director for the Maine Heritage Policy Center, a think tank focused on limited government, cautions public officials not to overpromise.

badattitude no place like home
01/29/19 6:30 pm

“We certainly need the help,” Mr. Posik said, referring to the state’s labor-force needs. “But if we’re attracting people to come here, we should certainly do it in a responsible way that isn’t strangling resources.”
Jennifer Bailey, the asylum program director at the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project in Maine, which works with arrivals, said the migrants in Maine have typically come to the U.S. on visas. She also has seen an uptick of people presenting themselves to officials at the U.S. southern border to ask for asylum.
“We have more cases than we’ve ever had,” she said. “The number of people coming is out of sync with resources.”
President Trump and numerous administration officials have said lax asylum laws have encouraged migrants by the thousands to come to the U.S. illegally, but the administration has faced setbacks in attempts to limit asylum seekers.

badattitude no place like home
01/29/19 6:30 pm

Maine, a slow-growing state known for lobsters and long winters, has for years looked to immigrants to boost the workforce and population. Immigrants now work everywhere from seafood plants to machine shops to manufacturing operations and run businesses in Portland, a trendy waterfront locale known nationally for its restaurant scene.
The foreign-born population fueled more than 75% of population growth in Portland and the surrounding area in 2011-16, according to a report co-produced by the city.
Portland has rejected the label of sanctuary city, citing its policy allowing for cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

badattitude no place like home
01/29/19 6:30 pm

Asylum seekers, who apply once they are in the U.S., are generally ineligible for federal benefits until they get asylum, and are prohibited from working for at least six months after filing an asylum application. Preparing to file can itself take months because of challenges such as waits for legal help and difficulty getting documents from home countries, said Mr. MacLean, the social-services administrator.
“What we find is that very quickly after they are able to get that work permit, they become self-sufficient,” he said. “The challenge is helping asylum seekers survive during their asylum-seeking process.”

badattitude no place like home
01/29/19 6:31 pm

Under Maine law, asylum seekers who have filed an application may qualify for general assistance, for up to 24 months. Funded by the state and municipalities, that program provides vouchers for rent, utilities and other staples.
In Portland, 65% to 70% of the 1,000 people now receiving general assistance are noncitizens, primarily asylum seekers, according to city staff. The city re-evaluates their eligibility every 30 days, and recipients must perform work for the city in return for the aid. Local nonprofits also help asylum seekers with needs, from winter coats to language classes.
In addition, the city budgets about $200,000 annually to fill in gaps for asylum seekers who don’t qualify for general assistance, such as those who haven’t yet filed an application.

badattitude no place like home
01/29/19 6:31 pm

By contrast, Portland’s new immigrants used to be predominantly refugees, Mr. MacLean said. Refugees remain outside the U.S. while their applications are considered. Once in the U.S., they qualify for an array of resettlement assistance and may work immediately. Refugee admissions are down sharply under President Trump.
A 40-year-old asylum seeker, who recently came to the bare-bones overflow shelter, said he had worked for an oil company in Angola. He believed he was in danger because he voiced his views about government corruption and traveled to the U.S. on a visa with his three children and wife, a social worker, he said. He planned to seek asylum and had heard Portland was safe.
“I hear they help people,” he said.
Write to Jennifer Levitz at jennifer.levitz@wsj.com

4JC Christian Pastors Wife
01/29/19 7:10 pm

Bleeding heart liberals aren’t going to be satisfied until the US is a third world country.....and then where are WE going to find asylum?!

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4JC Christian Pastors Wife
01/29/19 7:16 pm

I thought they were even more liberal than the US is becoming? And that’s a tiny country....all of us would overrun it! Lol

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4JC Christian Pastors Wife
01/29/19 11:14 pm

Thanks! GREAT video!

4JC Christian Pastors Wife
02/06/19 10:19 am

YES! I’ve shared that MANY times with liberals who think we can save the world! They always discount it. I don’t know how. It’s VERY straightforward and easy to understand!

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badattitude no place like home
02/06/19 10:21 am

Yep. Very easy to understand. But they don’t want to understand.

4JC Christian Pastors Wife
02/06/19 10:26 am

I agree....just spoke to someone last night on another topic....late term abortion...have you read the comments in my poll about whether it’s more compassionate to abort a sick baby or allow it to be born and comforted in it’s mother’s arms? If not, and you have time, check it out! They want to keep their heads stuck in the sand, so they can continue to justify their positions.

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