Gov. Paul LePage is criticized for saying that foreign immigrant workers who come and work in Maine are often hard to understand, as if it’s some awful social faux pas. But like the man the governor supports for president, Donald Trump, there is a hidden truth and a major political policy dispute, immigration, which can no longer be covered up by political correctness.

Many foreign workers are coming to Maine and the country legally each year. This comes at a time when thousands of young Mainers and millions all across America cannot find jobs. Americans see their wage levels depressed and job opportunities diminished by the importation of foreign labor by the cheap labor lobby in many industries, including tourism.

Often, American workers are forced to train foreign ones and then are replaced by those who work for lower wages. If they refuse, they are given no severance pay. This happened with the Walt Disney Corp. and Southern California Edison.

This year’s presidential campaign has been driven by a candidate who promises to crack down on both illegal immigration and the bipartisan policy of having legal immigrants replacing American workers.

This anti-American worker policy should stop. LePage and Trump are right on this issue and voters are responding. We need immigration policies that benefit American workers and the interests of the American people, not the interests of the Chamber of Commerce, foreign immigrants, and the millionaire donor class.

There are no jobs Americans will not do at the right price and under the right conditions. We should halt the issuing of any more work visas until all willing Americans are gainfully employed.

Gayle Finkbeiner

Belgrade