A story in yesterday's Portland Press Herald notes that Catholic Charities of Maine is assisting in the relocation of 200 Iraqi refugees to the Portland area.

Let's hope that Catholic Charities learned a lesson from the fiasco that they helped perpetuate in Lewiston a couple of years ago. Most Press Herald readers are only vaguely aware of the controversy surrounding the 2006 Somali relocation; but in Lewiston, it's a topic that will generate hard feelings for generations to come.

Honestly - I respect the good intentions that prompted CCM to aggressively relocate 3,000 refugees to a town of 35,000. But I contend that it was socially irresponsible to expect a relatively small town to shoulder so much responsibility. When you consider that Lewiston - or anyplace in Maine - is just about the whitest spot on the planet, it's hard to understand how CCM failed to predict the disastrous social upheaval that resulted from the deluge of immigrants. My sense is that Lewiston was basically chosen for the Somali relocation because - unlike Portland - it lacked the means to aggressively lobby against the huge Somali influx until the relocation was already well underway.

Just to be clear: I'm not defending the ignorant, racist acts and words that occurred - and are still occurring - in the aftermath of the Lewiston relocation. I'm saying that somebody should have foreseen the results and taken steps to steer the migration in way that would have had a less dramatic effect on the host communities.

Read the Press Herald story here …

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