Letters: Columbia has its own immigration problem

They are brought in by bus from other states, and downtown Columbia becomes their home. They are the homeless, and I submit that they are Columbia’s immigration problem.

They hang in groups to smoke, drink and eat, and leave their trash behind. It is a daily task to clean up their plastic bags, beer cans, liquor bottles and toilet paper. Yes, toilet paper. Private property is their public restroom. Many of them are not healthy, and I have had to scrub diarrhea off the back of my building on many occasions.

Columbia police try to help, but they can’t keep up. I am told that other communities buy bus tickets for the homeless and send them here because they know we will receive them, the climate is mild and we are friendly.

This must stop. The city has committed major tax dollars to the Bull Street project and other venues, but how do you make an area that is populated primarily by the homeless an attractive destination for working people?

Perhaps we should send people back where they came from if they are on the streets of Columbia for more than 30 days; this would be cost-effective and a good business decision. It costs a lot of money to sustain this mounting assortment of individuals who have great personal problems that can only be rectified if they wish to do so themselves.

I urge Mayor Steve Benjamin and City Council to make this their personal issue. It is very personal for those of us who are forced to tolerate it.

This story was originally published March 5, 2017 at 6:28 PM with the headline "Letters: Columbia has its own immigration problem."