The op-ed, “Jobs Americans won’t do?” (BDN, Jan. 4), by Jonette Christian, was timely, educational and needed. The net cost of immigration is enormous.

While Maine is wallowing in debt, we continue to provide public services to noncitizens – including illegal aliens.

Elderly Maine citizens are losing their homes paying taxes to support noncitizens who have done nothing for this country.

Gov. Baldacci says he wants to control spending. The obvious place to start is to eliminate programs for noncitizens. Instead, Maine has become the nation’s first sanctuary state for illegal aliens.

Christian did not have the space for many of the expenses of immigration, the latest being that all citizens pay the cost of accidents, fires and emergency services. These are the same states that grant in-state tuition for illegal aliens.

The net cost of immigration would eliminate the national debt and pay for the war in Iraq.

Immigration reform and law enforcement have become the No. 1 item on the national agenda.

Warren L. Brown

Portland