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For MPBN's Your Vote 2014 live election results, click here.MPBN’s elections compendium is brought to you by AARP, MEMIC and Lambert Coffin.Debates:Click here to watch the 1st Congressional District debateClick here to watch the 2nd Congressional District debateClick here to watch the Senate debateClick here to watch the gubernatorial debateResources:Gubernatorial Race: GridPaul LePage (R)Mike Michaud (D): Profile, Maine Calling interviewEliot Cutler (I): Maine Calling interviewSenate Race: GridSusan Collins (R): Profile, Maine Calling interviewShenna Bellows (D): Profile, Maine Calling interview1st District Congressional Race: GridChellie Pingree (D): Profile, Maine Calling interviewIsaac Misiuk (R): Profile, Maine Calling interviewRichard Murphy (I): Profile, Maine Calling interview2nd District Congressional Race: GridEmily Cain (D): Profile, Maine Calling interviewBruce Poliquin (R): Profile, Maine Calling interviewBlaine Richardson (I): Profile, Maine Calling interviewFor a list of referendum questions, click here.

2nd District Candidates Diverge on Ideas for Undocumented Children

The placement of eight undocumented children in Maine has forced candidates for governor and Congress to clarify how they would address the crisis on the nation's southern border. Whoever wins the election in Maine's 2nd Congressional District will have a say in how America's immigration challenges ought to be addressed. And the three candidates in the race all have different ideas about what to do.

In the last seven months, more than 30,000 children fleeing violence in Central America have crossed into the United States along the Mexican border. They've come, for the most part, from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala and have been placed by the federal government in states across the country.

"First of all, my heart goes out to these kids," says Bruce Poliquin, the Republican candidate in the 2nd District.

He says he can't imagine putting his own son on a dangerous, 1,400 mile journey through Mexico to the southern border. But Poliquin says resettling these children in the U.S. is not in their best interest. President Barack Obama, he says, ought to be telling Central American leaders that kids who show up on the southern border will be treated humanely, but ultimately returned to their parents.

"That's the most compassionate thing we can do for these kids," Poliquin says. "At the same time, it's really important that we're fair to our citizens here in the country legally. We have a limited amount of resources in this country and I believe we need to make sure those resources are used to care for our own people here first."

According to a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, more than half the kids are placed with relatives and many with their parents who have come before them. But Poliquin faults the federal government for being unwilling to secure the border and for sending a message to other countries that people who come here illegally will be able to stay.

Later this week, Republicans in the House are scheduled to vote on a bill to deal with the immediate crisis on the border. Among other things, the measure would send National Guard troops to secure the border and speed the process for sending unaccompanied minors back to their home countries. The bill is not expected to pass and Democrats now see an opening to seize the initiative on the issue.

"Well, I think the real problem here is the refusal of Congress to act on comprehensive immigration reform." says Emily Cain, the Democratic candidate in the 2nd District. "This situation and this crisis, with the children on the border, is very serious. This is just another reason why we can't delay any longer and why it's time to put partisanship aside and just focus on getting that job done."

In Washington, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has signaled that he may try to marry the GOP bill in conference with a comprehensive immigration reform package backed by Democrats. Republicans oppose the idea. On the current crisis, Emily Cain says the processing of arrivals at the border isn't happening nearly as efficiently as it should be. But she stops short of saying that undocumented, unaccompanied children who arrive in America should be immediately shipped home.

"As they come across the border, it is because they are fleeing something that is scary and we need to make sure, as a nation, that we are both compassionate and fair as we address the situation," Cain says.

"If we're not willing to step up to the bar and provide constructive aid to make these countries safe, then I'm not going to send the kids down there to be abused and butchered," says Blaine Richardson, who's running in the 2nd District as an independent. He says successive U.S. administrations have neglected relationships with neighbors in Central America. In Congress, he says he'd push to change this and ensure that all the kids coming across the border can return home safely.

"These children, make no mistake, are the future of Central America," Richardson says. "They're not the future of America."

The decision by the federal government to place eight of these kids in Maine has momentarily thrust the issue into the public eye here. But Sandy Maisel says he'd be surprised if immigration ends up being an issue that voters pay much attention to.

"There are issues of the economy," Maisel says. "I think they're social issues that divide these candidates very radically that are going to be much more important in most voters' decision making."

Maisel, who chairs the government department at Colby College, says immigration could become a bigger campaign issue if many more children from Central America are resettled here. But as of now, he says, that seems unlikely to happen.