This country needs to take care of its own first. I got a two-inch foam mattress and slept six inches away from someone else when I was homeless in Portland for six months. There were homeless veterans but no homeless refugees because Catholic Charities took care of them, real quick.

Leaves a bitter taste in my mouth when citizens get little to no help, but everyone helps refugees because they feel sorry for those who come from another country.

Politicians and the media should stop sugar-coating the refugee problem and tell the real story of across-the-board poverty and increased violence.

Michael Tetreault, Lewiston