[Ole Glory]

Spotlight: Lewiston, Maine, USA

In the fall of 2002, Lewiston Mayor Larry Raymond drafted an open letter to Somali leaders, pleading with them to help stop the influx of immigrants to the small town. “The large number of new arrivals cannot continue without negative results for all. The Somali community must exercise some discipline and reduce the stress on our limited finances and generosity,” he wrote. “Only with your help will we be successful in the future—please pass the word: We have been overwhelmed and have responded valiantly. Now we need breathing room. Our city is maxed out financially, physically, and emotionally.”

The letter came after more than 1,000 Somalis moved to the small city—population 36,000—in an 18-month period. (Most had been placed in Atlanta by the federal government as refugees, but then chose to move to Lewiston, drawn by its safety and smaller size.)

Lewiston quickly became overwhelmed by the needs of the newcomers: City officials said the influx strained social services such as welfare, job training, and language classes. Somalis make up a third of all tenants at the city’s largest public housing complex. More than a quarter of the families on the waiting list for public housing are Somali. Only about half the adults have found jobs. The city has doubled its general assistance budget (which provides food, housing, utilities, and medicine), has earmarked about one percent of its budget for services for the Somalis, and has cobbled together federal and state grants.

Lewiston’s assistant city administrator said that the property tax rate has now grown so high that every dollar spent must receive careful scrutiny. The city also worries what may happen if state and federal aid shrinks in upcoming years.

Governor Angus King Jr. has since announced the formation of a task force on immigration and refugee issues, noting that Lewiston faces a situation that “would be difficult for any community.”