PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 16, 2024
Trump’s use of the southern border crisis – largely people fleeing poverty and violence – to frighten Americans is morally reprehensible and engenders real fear among immigrants in Maine and across our nation. Do Maine lobster boat captains who hire immigrants to pull traps or managers of lobster processing plants share Trump’s brutal opinion of immigrants? Do blueberry farm owners in Washington County or potato growers in Aroostook County who depend on immigrants to help harvest their crops? Would the state’s restaurants and hotels echo Trump’s vicious claims about immigrants? Contrary Trump’s distorted representation of immigrants, in this state and nation new immigrants contribute to the economic and cultural vitality of life. ~ John Ripton, Kennebunkport