Brunswick continues to accept asylum seekers and will house 60 additional families at Brunswick Landing. The central question is this: why?
Town Councilor Dan Ankeles has an answer: “We are all better off as a community when we face situations like this one (asylum seekers) with kindness and resolve.” News Center Maine, July 15, 2019.
Yet, four months later, Russell Williams, a homeless veteran, was found dead near the railroad tracks on Federal Street in this kind and resolved community.
Town Councilor Abby King has an answer: “It’s exciting. We’re an older state. We need young families. We need a workforce.” News Center Maine, April 4, 2023.
Yet “immigration is a clumsy and unrealistic policy alternative to offset a shortage of domestic labor or to correct a perceived imbalance in the pensioner/worker ratio.” Center for Immigration Studies, Nov. 10, 2022.
New Mainers Support Group member Joanne Rosenthal has an answer: “We feel like for a town this size, we have the resources to adequately support these families.” News Center Maine, July 14, 2019.
Yet, between July 2018 and July 2019, Tedford Shelter turned away 205 local families. Bowdoin Orient, Dec. 6, 2019.
Brunswick homeowner Toni Kemmerly has an answer: “I’m thrilled that the asylum seekers are coming to town. I welcome the diversity. And if it increases our taxes, oh well.” WGME, March 3, 2023.
Yet some families are living paycheck to paycheck with no disposable income.
Town Councilor David Watson has an answer: “How they got here is not the issue. They are here now.” Portland Press Herald, Sept. 8, 2019.
Yet how they got here is an issue. The African migration route is the second deadliest in the world, according to the United Nations, claiming thousands of lives each year.
Summarily, Brunswick is sanctioning a chaotic and dangerous immigration system that lures migrants and depletes local resources. In what universe does that make sense?
Nancy Chesley
Brunswick
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