Immigration Impact:
Maine
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 | | State Population (2006 CB estimate) | 1,321,574 | | State Population in 2000 | 1,277,483 | | Average Annual Change 2000-2006 | 0.6% | | Foreign Born Population 2006 1/ | 40,805 | | Foreign Born Share 2006 | 3.0% | | Foreign Born Population 2000 | 36,691 | | Foreign Born Share 2000 | 2.9% | | Average Annual Change 2000-2006 | 1.8% | | Population Projection 2010 | 1.36 million | | Population Projection 2025 | 1.41 million | | Population Projection 2050 (FAIR) | 1.48 million | All numbers are from the U.S. Census Bureau unless otherwise noted.Additional Census Bureau, INS, and other immigration-related data are available for Maine. Population Change Maine’s population increased by 4 percent between 1990 and 2000, and by 3.5 percent between 2000 and 2006, bringing Maine’s total population to approximately 1.3 million. Approximately 9.3 percent of the total population increase between 2000 and 2006 in Maine was directly attributable to immigrants. FAIR estimates the illegal alien population in 2005 at 4,000. The INS estimated that there were less than 2,500 in 1990 and 2000. |
| FAIR’s projected annual fiscal costs to Maine taxpayers
for emergency medical care, education and incarceration resulting if an amnesty is adopted for illegal residents. | | Current | 2010 | 2020 | | $5,000,000 | $8,000,000 | $14,000,000 |
Population Profile Maine’s small towns are concerned about losing their character to growth. Eliot, population 6,000, is feeling the pressure of spreading development from Portsmouth, N.H. to the south and Biddeford/Saco and Portland to the north. In response, Eliot was one of the first Maine towns to adopt a building cap limiting the number of new homes that can be built in a year. Towns throughout southern Maine are now following Eliot’s example.2/ 55 percent of Maine’s foreign-born were naturalized U.S. citizens, versus 59 percent in 1990. 
Foreign-Born Population
Maine’s foreign-born population increased by 11.2 percent between 2000 and 2006. During that period Maine gained over 4,000 immigrants, bringing the total number of foreign-born residents in the state to over 40,000. Spotlight: Lewiston 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.” Environmental and Quality of Life Profile Traffic: As population growth put more traffic on the roads, the average commute for Maine residents increased 16 percent during the 1990s, to 23 minutes in 2000, 3/,4/ and to 23.3 in 2005. 5/ In some towns, it’s substantially higher; in Bradford, where the population has increased more than 33 percent since 1980, the average commute is 41 minutes, up from 31 minutes a decade ago.6/ 21 percent of commuters in Maine have a commute that is 45 minutes or longer, a figure that ranks 21st in the U.S. 7/ Disappearing open space: Each year, Maine loses 38,000 acres due to development.8/ Between 1982 and 1997, the amount of farm and forest land converted to urban uses in metropolitan Portland increased by 108 percent. Only eight other metropolitan areas in the nation saw a greater increase than Portland.9/ Sprawl: Local and state officials involved in regional planning say that Maine will be a very different state by 2050. Southern Maine, according to the State Planning Office, will become so urbanized that it will become an extension of Boston. 10/ Air pollution: As population increases, air pollution is on the rise in the state. In 2001, Maine recorded more bad air days, with ozone at dangerously high levels, than at any time in the past 13 years, according to the Department of Environmental Protection.11/ Cumberland, Penobscot, Knox, and Hancock, and York counties all received a grade of “F” from the American Lung Association in their “State of the Air 2005” report. Kennebec County received a grade of “D”. 12/ Water: Between 2000 and 2006, Maine’s foreign-born population increased by 14.3 percent.13/That compares with a 3.3 percent increase in the native-born population and that includes the children born to immigrants. When the U.S-born children of immigrants are included, immigration accounts for 22.6 percent of the state’s overall growth during that time.14/By 2050 the state’s population is expected to rise from 1.3 million in 2006 to 1.5 million.15Maine has a daily, per-capita water demand of 80.0 gallons.16This means that by 2050 public water usage will have increased by 16 million gallons each day. Poverty: In 2005 17.6 of immigrants living in Maine had incomes below the poverty level, an increase of 38.1 percent since 2000. Among non-citizens, the poverty rate is 26.9 percent.17/ Solid Waste: Maine generates 1.03 tons of solid waste per capita.18/ Schools: Between 1990 and 2000, Maine’s elementary and high school enrollment increased seven percent to 220,785. 19/,20/ If this trend continues, communities may find themselves struggling with the overcrowding plaguing many other states. Immigration and Employment Issues Maine businesses employ up to 8,000 migrant and foreign workers at any given time.21/ The state Department of Labor is supposed to certify that companies seeking to bring in foreign workers under the federal H2B program (for nonskilled, non-agricultural workers) have made a genuine effort to hire U.S. citizens. The number of H2Bs in Maine has grown in the last six years from 50 to 1,200. An application has never been denied.22/ Endnotes: -
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“Sprawl Communities,” Maine Sunday Telegram, July 29, 2001. -
Table DP-1-4, Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000,” Census 2000, U.S. Census Bureau. -
Table DP-1-4, Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 1990,” 1990 Census, U.S. Census Bureau. -
Selected Economic Characteristics: 2005 Data Set - 2005 American Community Survey, American Fact Finder, U.S. Census Bureau. -
Susan Young, “More Maine Commuters Drive Farther, Dodge Car Pools to Satisfy Lifestyles, Jobs,” Bangor Daily News, May 25, 2002. -
“U.S. Population 2007 Data Sheet,” Population Reference Bureau. -
“State Rankings by Acreage and Rate of Non-Federal Land Developed,” Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture. -
“Sprawl Rate Among Worst in U.S.,” Portland Press Herald, July 24, 2001. -
Shawn O’Leary, “State Foresees Major Sprawl by 2050,” Bangor Daily News, March 16, 2001. -
Susan Young, op. cit. -
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U.S. Census Bureau 2006. -
Jack Martin. “Issue Brief: Estimation of Foreign Born Birthrate.” FAIR. 2008. -
Jack Martin and Stanley Fogel. “Projecting the U.S. Population to 2050.” FAIR. March 2006. -
U.S. Geological Survey 2000. -
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Report Card for America's Infrastructure 2005," American Society of Civil Engineers -
Table DP-1-4, Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000,” Census 2000, U.S. Census Bureau. -
“Table DP-1-4, Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 1990,” 1990 Census, U.S. Census Bureau. -
Edward D. Murphy, “Migrants Indispensable to State’s Economy,” Maine Sunday Telegram, September 22, 2002. -
Bruce Kyle, “Sometimes Even and Inverted Pyramid Misses the Point,” Bangor Daily News, October 5, 2002.
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Wow, it was really hard and brought up so many conflicting feelings for me when I was reading through this information. I felt like "Oh my gosh, we're running out of resources." But also, "Thank goodness Maine is able to provide a safe haven for so many." I think it is hard to read how strapped resources are in Maine and not feel a little resentment, followed by guilt. This is the tough road ahead we will face as social workers attempting to scrape up resources that are limited and I fear will soon just be unavailable.
ReplyDeleteJarica, thank you for your post. I thought the same thing when I was researching this subject. I admit to feeling the same guilt and resentment you do. I don't know if you know exactly what your going to do in this field, (I know I don't yet), but it seems to me, we need people who will lobby for more resources because it is a little frightening.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I want to thank you for all of the helpful information you posted on this topic. It is clearly an important topic for Maine, especially, and it is fascinating to learn more about the Somali people and the issues raised by their immigration to Maine. You are doing a wonderful job laying out the issues. Second, I want to say that I had a similar reaction to Jarica when reading about the economic impact being felt in Lewiston as a result of the number of Somali immigrants moving there. During these difficult economic times, it is hard not to react with a bit of fear and concern about the stress that is placed on the city’s and state’s resources. On the other hand, I like the growing diversity that is happening within our state, and I am convinced that, despite the issues that arise, we all benefit from an increase in diversity. Many of us are American citizens only because someone in our families was once allowed to immigrate to this country despite the economic impact it may have had. I hope that Lewiston’s government and citizens (and the government and citizens of Maine and the country) will not react in fear in the face of economic strain, but will instead work together to address the needs of current citizens and recent immigrants in order to find some kind of solution for the betterment of everyone. Sadly, I think our government often is too reactionary and looks for quick fixes rather than really examining the issues and making tough choices for the long-term good. I think you are right, Jarica and Cindy, that this will definitely create work for all of us future social workers to help advocate for the kind of changes that will benefit all.
ReplyDeleteThank you Dave for your comment. You summarized it very well. Diversity is good for all of us, yet their is the balance between an influx of people and the resources one has for those resources. I think that is why some people get so angry and feel that immigrants are taking their jobs and I think that many people are fearful and their fear comes out as anger.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very informative article with tons of valuable information. when thinking about the amount of individuals going through the different points in the resettlement process and the confusion and lack of enough resources it is scary. I agree with Jarica that i felt so concerned with the lack of resources and support but on the larger scale I felt happy that there was such an admirable effort that is helping so many. I look forward to much more!
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