Encouraging Immigration

The first reaction many Maine residents likely will have upon learning that a new state-level task force convened for its first meeting this week is that the last thing Maine needs is another task force. Given the extent to which convening task forces has replaced actual progress on the tasks at hand, this is understandable.

This one is different. The overall issue is immigration; a cornerstone of this nation’s history and a key to this state’s future. The impetus behind Gov. King’s decision to form the Immigration and Refugee Resettlement and Management Task Force is the recent and concentrated influx of immigrants originally from Somalia, particularly in Lewiston, and the resulting public costs, ugly rumors, hurtful words and impending racist rallies. It has been decades since Maine has experienced a jolt of population growth on any scale; this panel, consisting of experts in such fields as housing, labor and social services, can do much to make this the positive experience it can and should be.

Some task forces produce concrete results – an action plan, a compilation of resources, an ongoing effort to solve problems and advance the issue. Much of the upset surrounding the Somali immigration is the result of the lack those things. Utterly false rumors that these newcomers – some 1,200 so far – were bankrupting Lewiston, getting free cars, forcing residents from their apartments, went unanswered for too long. Federal grants to ease the strain were tapped, thanks largely to the congressional delegation, but the practical effects of this help were not made known to the public. Many assistance programs offered by private charities were not known about and so unused. The lack of coordination among the public and private agencies contributed to the confusion. Solid evidence that mass immigration can produce substantial economic return to a struggling community for a brief investment in settlement costs – such as the major boost immigrants from Guyana have brought to Schenectady, N.Y. – were not made known to the people of Lewiston, an opportunity to counter the unease was missed. This task force can to ensure that the ignorance – some honest, some mean-spirited – that has caused turmoil in Lewiston never again surfaces in Maine.

Gov. King has handled this issue well. His thoughtful words have done much to heal the wounds caused by some careless words offered by Lewiston’s mayor and exploited by others more interested in controversy than in conciliation. The task force he has created will have much valuable work to do after he leaves office. He has made the point, often and well, that Maine needs immigrants to prosper; without them, it will continue to wither.

With just one month left in office, the governor has one more important contribution to make on this issue. On Jan. 11, just three days after he steps down, the World Church of the Creator, a racist neo-Nazi group, will hold a rally in Lewiston. Maine people do not need to be told that the values of this group are not Maine values, but Maine people need a spokesman to get that message out to the rest of the nation and the rest of the world. No governor could leave a finer legacy.