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A new development in Brunswick, which will initially house asylum seekers, has drawn the ire of some Republicans, who have spread false and inflammatory claims about the project.
Bangor Daily News housing reporter Zara Norman explained the project and dispelled some of the erroneous claims.
Here are two key takeaways: Asylum seekers are in the U.S. legally. Strong arguments can be made for changes to our immigration system to better screen, process and adjudicate the claims of those seeking asylum. However, blatantly calling everyone seeking asylum in the U.S. “illegal immigrants” is just plain wrong.
Second, under federal law, those seeking asylum cannot even apply for permission to work in the U.S. until at least six months after their arrival. This leaves them without a source of self-generated income and reliant on government programs and charitable help for their basic needs, including housing.
During his tenure as president, Donald Trump extended the wait time for asylum seekers to apply for work authorization to a full year. The rule was invalidated by a judge and withdrawn by the Biden administration. So, it is a bit rich for his son, Donald Trump Jr., to be criticizing Maine for helping asylum seekers when his father made their wait even longer for permission to work, which...
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