WATERVILLE — Mindy Saint Martin finds herself crying frequently, but she tries not to when her children, Donovan, 5, and Marcus, 2, are present. “I cry a lot every day — when I go to bed, I cry when I’m in the shower, I cry if I go to the bathroom, but I try not […]
immigration
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Graham-Durbin DREAM Act isn't the answer for immigration issue
After the experience of the past two weeks, it’s not White House adviser Stephen Miller and Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton who should be expelled from immigration negotiations, but Dick Durbin and Lindsey Graham. The Illinois Democrat and South Carolina Republican teamed up for a comically inadequate immigration proposal that prompted President Donald Trump’s “s***hole” blowup […]
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Posted inMaine, News
Citizenship screening at Maine bus station stirs mixed feelings, legal questions
Peter Homer rides the Concord Coach Lines bus from Bangor to Boston once a month for his job as an engineer, but he had never seen U.S. Border Patrol agents at the Bangor Transportation Center until he lined up to board the bus Jan. 14. “After we handed our tickets to the driver and handed […]
Posted inNation / World
Donald Trump’s immigration pivot angers his supporters
NEW YORK (AP) — Fearing betrayal on a signature campaign issue, President Donald Trump’s loyalists are lashing out against his proposal to create a path to citizenship for nearly 2 million “Dreamer” immigrants. Trump-aligned candidates from Nevada and Virginia rejected the notion outright. A loyal media ally, Breitbart News, attacked him as “Amnesty Don.” And […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Republicans don't really want to fix immigration
President Trump and the Republican leadership have made clear that they have no intention of repairing our chaotic immigration system. Why not? Because illegal immigration is a problem that bothers most Americans. Fix it and all these politicians have are tax cuts for the rich, environmental degradation, soaring deficits and the loss of health care. […]
Posted inLetters, sj-web
A win-win situation
I could not be prouder of Lewiston. I watched the Jan. 23 Lewiston City Council meeting via Livestream and was was deeply moved by the level of goodwill, civic engagement and passionate, civil discussion of the bill LD 1492, An Act To Attract, Educate and Retain New Mainers To Strengthen the Workforce. There was much […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Democrats can blame Barack Obama for immigration mess
By Marc A. Thiessen Special to The Washington Post The government shutdown is over. Democrats finally realized that closing the government over illegal immigration was a losing political battle. They created a needless crisis and got rolled. So who is to blame for their current predicament? Along with Charles Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, Democrats can […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine supreme court says state must provide food stamps to eligible asylum seekers
Maine’s top court has ruled that the Maine Department of Health and Human Services was wrong to deny food stamp benefits to asylum seekers who had yet to find work. In a 13-page decision issued Tuesday, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled in favor of Euphrem Manirakiza, a Burundian immigrant who sued the suit after […]
Posted inLetters, sj-web
Make the compromise
The president and Republican opponents of immigration reform are holding the “dreamers” hostage to their demand to build a border wall. I urge Democrats in Congress to compromise and allow President Trump to build as much of his promised wall as Mexico is willing to pay for. Since the president has claimed, hundreds of time, […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Democrats should give Trump his border wall
By Francis Wilkinson Bloomberg View Someone, somewhere, somehow is going to have to give President Donald Trump a piece of wall to stand in front of. It might as well be the Democratic congressional leaders Charles Schumer and Nancy Pelosi. The wall is not a good idea; it’s a colossal boondoggle in the making. That’s […]