When officials in Portland, Maine convened a meeting of the Health & Human Services and Public Safety Committee Tuesday to discuss emergency measures to house a flood of illegal immigrants at The Expo – the local basketball arena – 72 mostly African asylum seekers had arrived in the previous three days.
By the end of the 3 ½-hour meeting, the total had jumped to 86, or about 20 percent, the Press Herald reports.View image on Twitter
“It’s not sustainable to have the only program in the whole darn country paid for by 67,000 people,” Portland City Counselor Jill Duson complained, referring the Portland Community Support Fund – the only municipally funded assistance program for asylum seekers in the U.S.
“It’s not about telling people don’t come,” she said. “It’s about being clear that the nine of 10 other programs we’re committed to are still here.” – READ MORE