I must take issue with Diane Loranger’s Sept. 27 letter, headlined in print “Expect a hand up, not handouts, from LePage.” She states that Gov. Mills “wants to give asylum seekers handouts.” Does she understand that asylum seekers want to work but are barred from doing so by our federal government for extended periods of time after filing their asylum application? There is a bill languishing in Congress to change this. We know our immigration system is broken, but who has the will to change it?
General Assistance and federal money goes to help these people who have made perilously long journeys to escape violence, death and only God knows what else. As a so-called Christian nation, are we to turn our backs on our neighbors from away? Or do we give them a “hand up” to help them become productive members of our country and workforce? And, in an aging workforce here in Maine, we need our new immigrant neighbors to fill the shortages many businesses are experiencing.
Carol Riley
Cumberland Center
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