Letter to the Editor: Fixing the border mess

4 mins read
Bruce Poliquin
Bruce Poliquin

The ongoing humanitarian crisis on our southwest border has been created by elected officials in Washington unwilling to do their jobs. For years, Presidents and Congress have refused to secure the border and enforce our immigration laws.

More recently, President Obama has sent the unmistakable message that if a child reaches American soil, even illegally, he or she will not be sent back home. Now, the media reports that the President is considering some form of amnesty by executive order for nearly 5 million people who are here illegally.

As a parent, I can’t imagine sending a child or young adult on a dangerous 1,400- mile journey from Central America through Mexico to the Texas border. However, desperate parents have entrusted ruthless human traffickers to deliver nearly 60,000 of their children to our national door step since last fall. During the journey, reports are common of physical abuse, rape, and worse. What these kids endure is unthinkable. My heart goes out to them.

The continuing wave of human suffering reaching our shores is taking advantage of hard-working American taxpayers. Families are still struggling through the worst recession in 70 years. It’s not fair to ask Americans to care for tens of thousands of border crossers when we often can’t afford education and health care services for our own legal citizens.

Jobs for American workers is another concern of mine. Millions of immigrants arriving without permission compete with American workers for jobs. This has stifled wage increases for our hard-working middle class families. That’s not fair either.

The breakdown of our immigration system has become a public health, national security, and jobs issue. Solving it must become a national priority or it will only get worse.

If honored to serve as your next Congressman, I will roll up my sleeves and work hard with Democrats, Republicans, and Independents to find a lasting solution which helps our 2nd District families.

I believe any credible solution must include using all appropriate federal resources, including the National Guard and surveillance technology, to assist state border control personnel to enforce existing law, secure our southwest border, and stop illegal entry.

We must also send a clear and strong message to the world that people who arrive in America illegally will be treated with compassion but processed quickly and returned home safely according to existing law.

Foreign governments should understand that U.S. financial aid and other cooperation will be in jeopardy if they allow human traffickers to bring their citizens to our borders illegally.

Stiff penalties should be imposed upon U.S. employers that hire workers not having proper documentation.

America has a proud history of welcoming hard-working legal immigrants. More than a hundred years ago, my French-Canadian ancestors journeyed to Maine looking for better lives and more freedom. They toiled in the mills of Central Maine with every generation working hard for a better future.

Let’s build upon America’s rich history of legal immigration by holding the President and Congress accountable. Let’s insist they work together to end the humanitarian crisis and chaotic illegal immigration on our southwest border, and finally fix our broken immigration system. This will strengthen our economy and create more jobs for all Americans.

Bruce Poliquin, Oakland
Candidate for U.S. Congress
and former Maine State Treasurer

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27 Comments

  1. Central america is a mess mostly because of the illegal drug traffic which is driven by the US’s insatiable demand for drugs. The people there want to escape the resulting horror that has evolved through drug cartels.
    We created a humanitarian crisis. We should do something about the drug trade. Either make the stuff legal, or spend more effort on keeping the drugs out, or helping those who are addicted. OR- all three.
    Only then, will the peoples of central america feel it’s better to stay home.
    To do that, we need to spend money. Our congress has been unwilling to take care of the problem.
    Our current President didn’t create the problem nor has he exacerbated it.

    A huge number of the jobs that immigrants do, our native born citizens are not willing to do. So, not as many jobs are lost to them as some would have us believe.

    Many, many economists believe that the recession would have recovered more quickly and more robustly had congress not throttled the budget. Blaming an influx of children for our financial woes is plain silly.
    In terms of a percentage of the national budget, it’s mere pennies.
    Furthermore, if Mr. poliquin wishes to represent the citizens of Maine, he should focus on issues that affect Mainers. Our southwest borders are about as far away from Maine as is possible and still be on the continent.

  2. I wonder where Mr. Poliquin gets all his information. From USAToday, Jul 25, on Obama’s meeting with Central American leaders.
    “While the United States has “great compassion” for the children and other migrants, Obama said that those without proper claims to stay in the United States will be sent back to their home countries.” And USAToday is hardly Slate or the Huffington Post.

  3. Mr. Poliquin’s letter is a study in insensitivity, the slanting of facts, and political grandstanding. If the Congress in general – and the Republicans in particular – would devote more of their energy to the responsibility of governing and less on opposing almost any idea whatever advanced by the President, many of the underlying problems he addresses would have been dealt with long ago.

  4. As a long time “conservative”, notwithstanding what some might try and label me as, in my mind the Republican Party has become so “one dimensional” that the only group that is really benefiting from them is the “Safety Shoe Industry”, the country surely isn’t!

    (Hint: ya know, the folks that attempt to reduce injuries from self inflicted gun shot wounds to the foot)

  5. How about this,Mr.Tree Farm: 95% percent of illegals are here at the behest of big corporations,rich folks and agribusiness who love the cheap labor. They use illegals to drive down working American’s wages and break unions. I could solve this problem in a week. A new law would mandate 1 year in prison and a $10,000 fine for every illegal found to be in your employ. Mandatory. No exceptions. No excuses. You also forfeit your assets. Problem solved except for the throngs at the border trying to get back home.

  6. In these trying times, remember where we have come from and how we got here. Visit New York Harbor some day, and take the Ellis Island tour. We have the money to treat our own with greater dignity than we do, we can certainly help out those arriving at our borders in need of a future. We seem to lack the will to recognize the issues of the world, and what needs to be done to address them. There is no richer country on earth. We do not need to create an even greater income divide by building a higher wall around our borders.

    The reality of our economy is that many jobs are filled by migrants, both legal and illegal. They came here, they want to work, and they get jobs. The owners of the businesses that hire them either treat them fairly, or are corrupt. Migrants, both legal and illegal are not the biggest problem we have, so why choose to lead with the thought they are? They are not the cause for losing highly paid jobs overseas, they are not the cause for the bank failures, and casino like financial instruments that wrecked the housing market, are they?

    Remember Lady Liberty? Our family goes back only a few generations on one side in this country, and only a few hundred years on the other side. Most population of the United States has descended from relatively recent immigrants. If you want to go after a big problem go after the republican controlled House that does nothing to move our country forward. We do not need to divide our country as it has been, we need to find our moral purpose and pull together. Blaming those arriving on our borders for not helping those already here is merely a ploy to further divide our country. Talking points from talking heads. Be original if you want my vote, be sincere, and care about the common man, woman and child.

    What have you done to reign in reckless financial manipulation on Wall Street? How about campaigning on ways to reduce the cost of medical care, not reducing the delivery of medical care? Where have you led to reduce the cost of energy to the citizens who depend on it for heat, and transport?

    The disaster at the borders is an issue, but not the one you should be campaigning on, it is merely the talking point of the month for the Grand Old Party.

    Immigrants are not the problem, for many generations, immigrants have been the solution:

    The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus

    Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
    With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
    Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
    A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
    Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
    Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
    Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
    The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
    “Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
    With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
    Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
    The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
    Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
    I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

  7. Snowman, Poliquin is running for the UNITED STATES congress and therefore should be involved in fixing the border mess.
    Matt, my ancestors(and I’ll bet yours as well) came here legally. Big difference.
    Press 1 for Spanish.

  8. A sign outside the Unitarian Church in Portland reads, “Welcome, fellow immigrants!” This is a quote from Franklin D. Roosevelt, addressing the Daughters of the American Revolution. The message is clear; we are all immigrants here. Have some compassion, fellow immigrants. These people coming across our borders are often escaping horrendous conditions. The “Maine Eight” that our governor speaks of are children. What kind of people are we if we can’t offer refuge and kindness to children?

  9. -> Matt Allen. Immigrants are not the problem, because the “disaster at the border” has nothing to do with immigration, and everything to do with illegal “migration”.

    -> Milton Kidd. Yes, some will be sent back after spending a few months or years here, at taxpayer expense, waiting for a hearing in courts that are already overloaded. Most won’t show up and nothing will happen to them.

    -> anyone. Jobs that Americans won’t do are largely unfilled because we pay Americans not to work.

    Please do take the Ellis Island tour to learn about the history of immigration, enough to understand that there is no such thing as an illegal immigrant.

  10. I would rather my tax dollars go to feeding and caring for central american refugee children instead of sending ammunition to Israel.

    Central america is a mess because it’s been taken over by criminals who thrive by supplying drugs to the us.

    Maine has a large drug problem.

    The best thing we (Mainers) can do to stop the flow of people trying to cross our southern borders illegally is to eradicate the drug problem here in Maine.

  11. the difference then when our families came to ellis island is they wanted to be citizens. there was no welfare or social security. the illegals now don’t want to be citizens jut take the free bee’s.

    also, if you read history Roosevelt wouldn’t take jews in even. when he knew what the germans were going to do to them

  12. How weirdly consistent. ‘ex resident’ objects to our taxes helping Israel defend its sovereignty, but is OK with our taxes helping Central American refugees destroy ours. That aside, the “disaster at the border” may be a great boon to Maine’s economy …

    COLLECT MORE THAN $7,000 PER MONTH FOR ‘FOSTERING’ ADULT ILLEGAL ALIENS

    The federal government is in dire need of U.S. citizens willing to house the thousands of illegal immigrants who enter the country each week, and they are willing to pay them to do so. … Foster parents have the ability to collect more than $7,400 per month, considering that they can house six immigrants at any given time. … the illegal immigrants are provided with taxpayer subsidized education, health care, transportation, and an “allowance.”

    Given the comments here and elsewhere in our community, there must be many eager to volunteer. Please post here when you become a ‘foster’ home. I’m sure I’m not the only one interested to know who’s willing to his money where his mouth is.

  13. To me, the distressing thing is the number of comments that provide no basis for claiming Bruce’s facts are not facts, try to make illegal migration the moral equivalent of legal immigration, and or course mindlessly rant about ‘corporations’. The encouraging thing is that others can speak intelligently of the issues, articulate their views, and support them rather than resort unsupported and specious personal attacks on the author. Would there more of the latter and none of the former.

  14. Funny you should mention the whole, put your money where your mouth is Frostproof. Last night I viewed a video online of a reporter asking residents in a very liberal Virginia town about signing a petition to allow illegal immigrants to be shipped to their two. Many were more than happy to sign the petition, but when asked to be put on a list as to have one of those illegal immigrants be housed with them, they all declined.

    Funny how that works …

  15. Israel is among the richest countries in the world and the ISRAEL FIRST lobby is one of the most powerful and well funded. Lets Sell them all the weapons they want. It will create countless jobs. We will give them a discount for volume purchases.

  16. @ ACO…. Not only is your eduction in history a bit misrepresented, but your grammar is atrocious. Perhaps a little reading might benefit you.

  17. EX Resident and David,

    Israel makes their own ammunition and exports it here: so just so you know… shop for the IMI label.

    BTW, I’m all for illegal immigration, My spouse and I would gladly adopt six or seven of them as long as we receive the 7 grand a head. let’s invite them all here and have ’em fix the roads.
    Just think; all 40,000 of Maine’s taxpayers could get on this scam and the unemployment rate would go to zero after all the bums move out.

    We can call it “the fundamental transformation of Maine” project.

  18. Ken, many of the experts who write on these editorials decide what are facts and what aren’t. That being said Snowman hit one right on the tip! These illegals are doing the work that natives don’t want to do! So my question is twofold; Why do we allow illegal immigrants to come through our borders some of whom will work and others who are here for benefits, and secondly why do we think it is ok for able bodied people to land on “disability” or welfare when there is work out there they could be doing? Work used to be honorable and one was respected for providing for their family through honest labor. If we made honest efforts to rein in Welfare and Disability fraud and waste then perhaps we could fill some of these jobs that are dependent on illegal immigration. And wages may go up through supply and demand in the labor force as opposed to government mandate.

    Money is a finite thing, and the tragedy of what is happening on our southern border right now is first and foremost a tragedy albeit manmade for these children and I mean the children not the 28 year olds claiming to be children or the teenage members of gangs like MS 13, and secondly for the health, well-being and financial stability of our nation.

    I wonder if the former Marine sitting in Jail in Mexico for the last 5 months is being treated as well as those thousands who illegally enter our country!

  19. J.R. It was news headlines yesterday that Israel requested more ammo from the US government. NOT the stuff our 2nd amendment aficionados hord- the big stuff, the stuff you use to wipe out entire city blocks of humanity. Maybe we make money selling it to them- but I doubt it.

    Everything I write in a comment, ( I admit I have made a few honest mistakes) I can back up with references. I don’t just spew forth stuff off the top of my head or repeat hearsay. Maybe I should set a website that just has footnotes and references.

    The problem of people living in the US without being here legally isn’t a national crisis. It certainly has nothing at all to do with jobs and the economy in Maine.

    The US has a larger military than the next five largest, combined! Yes, even though there are nations with populations that are exponentially larger, and that cover vastly larger geographic areas, we have the largest.
    What has that done for us? We have really botched most of the military campaigns we have gotten into in the last 4 decades. The world may have been a better place after WWII, but much of what we have meddled in since has been mixed at best.

    So, if we really, really want to reduce spending, get our fiscal house in order, cut the national debt, take care of our people, then scale back the military meddling and concentrate our energies and resources to help ourselves.

    This hysteria about our Southwestern borders is just a smokescreen, to divert the public interest away from where it should be focused.

  20. Snowman,

    What I wrote earlier was purely sarcastic. As I recently told my spouse after she had a particularly frustrating day, ” .. honey, if it wasn’t for waste, fraud and abuse, you wouldn’t have job… (She works as a Senior Business Analyst for a major evil insurance company).

    Socioeconomically speaking, when I reflect on the size and scope of transfer payments, on the massive growth in entitlement spending, now I ask “if weren’t for waste, fraud and abuse, would we even have an economy? As far as our collective effort in “righting the ship” ,all I can say is that you apparently hold a far more rosy view of what lies ahead.

    As far as the military, spending or our collective history, it is a moot point. It is already too little, too late.
    The country is too polarized, too divided. Politics after all, is about patronage (so I expect the printing, borrowing and spending to continue unabated). We are little more than a social aggregate, with less and less common history, language or shared culture. The country is beginning the process of “balkanizing” along several different lines of social strata- so yes, maybe the border and the undocumented folk here is a side show at this point.

    Perhaps it would be better to let it fester.

  21. Maine’s population is around 1.4 million, the US’s is around 320 million. A little quick arithmetic … we have 0.4375% of the country’s people. If our federal government does something fairly (hey, there’s a first time for everything) our share is that percentage.

    The number I hear most often is 1,500 illegals strolling north across the border every day, most of them armed with the proper words to trigger the asylum process. More arithmetic … that’s over 45,000 per month. They do not stay near the border – our compassionate government is redistributing them, fairly of course, across the country. That works out to 200 illegals per month “dumped” in Maine – 2,400 per year.

    These children, some of them already going gray, require housing, food, medical care, and schooling. Let’s assume that Washington picks up the tab. Yeah, right. They won’t raise taxes to cover it, so they’ll crank up the presses and print more dollars, debasing the currency already in circulation, leading to inflation and higher prices for everything. A double slap in the face to current residents, especially the poor.

    Back to schooling … We’ll have to hire a bunch of new teachers to handle Spanish versions of all subjects, meaning increased property taxes. We can’t expect these kids to learn English, although most of them will be here long enough to become fluent. No, since they are not immigrants seeking citizenship, we’ll have to provide “separate but equal” services everywhere. Anything less would show a lack of tolerance for diversity, and probably violate their rights, leading to another scolding from the UN.

    The problem of people living in the US without being here legally isn’t a national crisis. It certainly has nothing at all to do with jobs and the economy in Maine.

    It certainly is, and it certainly does.

  22. With respect to calling out the ‘National Guard’ to our southern border, this is just another fake show of “military might” to make a certain segment think that “something is being done” to solve a problem.

    Pointing guns at women and children is ridiculous and shameful.

  23. Folks take a look at what has happened in Lewiston when the Somalians were brought in. The town almost went broke when they asked for housing, welfare, medical, education and no jobs available. And the few that we’re brought in have increased in numbers. Just be very careful what you wish fir.

  24. Bring in all the illegals you want to, but DO NOT Expect the tax payers to pay for their support. We have enough citizens who think they’re owned a living. News says Obama has purchased a $4Mil house in Palm Springs. I bet HE has room for them!!!

  25. Nancy Porter:

    Sigh… I haven’t heard about the President buying a house in Palm Springs. I heard he bought one in North Carolina.
    At any rate, if he DID buy a house in Palm Springs, ( I am assuming P.S. in California?) let me tell you something.
    I once owned a house in Palm Springs. It’s a two bedroom ranch in a modest neighborhood. I bought it for $60K in the 1980’s. last I heard of it, it sold for nearly 1 million in 2006. So, a 4 million dollar house, if it’s nearly anywhere other than Franklin County ME, isn’t necessarily an extravagance.
    How much do you think the Bush’s houses are worth? Ronald Reagan’s? Nixon’s? Gerald Ford’s?

    Not that the value of the President’s house has squat to do with refugee children coming over the border.
    Last I heard, we had 8 children being kept in Maine- with relatives, until they are processed and deported.
    Do you hear a lot of Spanish being spoken on the streets of Farmington?
    AND…. don’t forget, Maine has always, always gotten MORE money back from the the federal government than it’s taxpayers pay into the IRS. Yes, that’s right, ask Paul Mills. He wrote that right in this publication a few months back.
    If a hardworking person of Mexican descent living and working in Texas complained of their hard earned money going to the bums in Maine who won’t get over and move on from their shoe factories being closed, that person may have a more valid complaint than you. AND… there are indeed, many hundreds of thousands of honest, hardworking taxpaying citizens of latino heritage working in the USA.

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