kikipeepers asked

Do you think this mayor was right or wrong in asking Somali residents to have some restraint and not move into his city so fast?

Maine Mayor's Letter Upsets Somalis Sat Oct 5, 6:07 PM ET LEWISTON, Maine (AP) - Somali immigrants are expressing resentment over a letter by Lewiston Mayor Larry Raymond urging them to 'exercise some discipline' and stop moving so quickly into Maine's second-largest city. Leaders of the Somali community were meeting over the weekend to draft a response to the letter, which expressed alarm about the arrival of more than 1,000 Somalis in Lewiston, a city of about 35,000 residents, over the past 20 months. 'This large number of new arrivals cannot continue without negative results for all,' Raymond wrote in the three-page letter sent last week to Somali leaders and released to reporters. 'The Somali community must exercise some discipline and reduce the stress on our limited finances and our generosity,' the letter read. Members of Lewiston's Somali community planned to hold a news conference Monday and hoped to meet with the mayor to discuss the letter. 'Some people think the letter is negative,' said Somali resident Said Tani, who co-owns a local variety store. Tani, who moved from Atlanta to Lewiston five months ago, said he wished the mayor had met with Somali leaders privately rather than speaking out in public. Raymond said he is willing to meet with Somali leaders, but he insisted the letter speaks for itself. 'I don't know that I can be any clearer,' the 71-year-old former probate judge said. 'We're looking for people to give us a break here ... We can't take any more.' Raymond said wrote the letter because many Lewiston residents told him they were concerned about the city's growing Somali population. City officials estimate that about half of the 412 Somali adults living in Lewiston have found work, but many are receiving public assistance. The federal Office of Refugee Resettlement has reallocated some funding for job training, language programs and social services. Raymond said he has received dozens o

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