--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The truth is, Bob, they need those…" description: "\"“The truth is, Bob, they need those immigrants. Maine’s been losing its young people—you and I are a perfect case in point. And the truth also is: That..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e7/elizabeth-strout-1799_immigration_the-truth-is-bob-they-need-those-immigra_2089826.png" --- # The truth is, Bob, they need those immigrants. Maine’s… ![“The truth is, Bob, they need those immigrants. Maine’s been losing its young people—you and I are a perfect case in point. And the truth also is: That’s sad.” quote by Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e7/elizabeth-strout-1799_immigration_the-truth-is-bob-they-need-those-immigra_2089826.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e7/elizabeth-strout-1799_immigration_the-truth-is-bob-they-need-those-immigra_2089826.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e7/elizabeth-strout-1799_immigration_the-truth-is-bob-they-need-those-immigra_2089826.png) > ““The truth is, Bob, they need those immigrants. Maine’s been losing its young people—you and I are a perfect case in point. And the truth also is: That’s sad.”” [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Immigration is needed for demographic health, yet it brings sadness over youth loss. **In simple terms:** Immigrants fill demographic gaps. Key Takeaway Address population decline compassionately. Themes demographics immigration loss Mood empathetic concerned Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - regional planning - community building - policy debates Key Concepts sociology public policy Questions to Reflect On - How can communities welcome newcomers? - What solutions balance growth and heritage? A Different Perspective Immigration can strain resources. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Immigration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immigration/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [“The truth is, Bob, that no matter how far or fast you go, the past always follows: an inky, faceless thing tacked to your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isla-j-bick/the-truth-is-bob-that-no-matter-how-far-or-fast-you-go-the-past/) Isla J. Bick > [“All dies! and not alone The aspiring trees and men and grass; The poets' forms of beauty pass, And noblest deeds they are undone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/all-dies-and-not-alone-the-aspiring-trees-and-men-and-grass-the-poets/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [But I knew the truth and that's why I was so sad. Every moment before this one depends on this one. Everything in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/but-i-knew-the-truth-and-that-s-why-i-was-so-sad-every-moment-before/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [Personally, I didn't think there was anything wrong with sadness. Just the opposite – hypocrisy made people happy and truth made them sad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/personally-i-didn-t-think-there-was-anything-wrong-with-sadness-just/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We think tooo much… But we feel Littel Truth but sad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajat-dogra/we-think-tooo-much-but-we-feel-littel-truth-but-sad/) [Rajat Dogra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajat-dogra/) > [The sad truth is the truth is sad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-sad-truth-is-the-truth-is-sad/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You're lying because you don't want me to know the truth, I'm sad to say; I know the truth and I couldn't care less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-re-lying-because-you-don-t-want-me-to-know-the-truth-i-m-sad-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's better to wake up to the truth and be sad than to wake up to a lie and smile like a fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xuan-ta/it-s-better-to-wake-up-to-the-truth-and-be-sad-than-to-wake-up-to-a/) [Xuan Ta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xuan-ta/) > [Regardless of your political beliefs, the fact that you have to do fact checks after a debate to see if they told the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/regardless-of-your-political-beliefs-the-fact-that-you-have-to-do/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A lot of Broadway has that immigrant narrative of America as a place where you can become something else against all odds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-kass/a-lot-of-broadway-has-that-immigrant-narrative-of-america-as-a-place/) [Deborah Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-kass/) > [All of us take offense to anyone who reaps the rewards of living in America without taking on the responsibilities of living in America.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/all-of-us-take-offense-to-anyone-who-reaps-the-rewards-of-living-in/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [We need to fight to prove to people that it is possible to form an E.U. migration policy that is in line with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-orban/we-need-to-fight-to-prove-to-people-that-it-is-possible-to-form-an-e/) [Viktor Orban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-orban/) > [Europe is creating the flight of refugees that's tearing it apart politically, and leading rightwing nationalist parties to gain power to withdraw from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hudson/europe-is-creating-the-flight-of-refugees-that-s-tearing-it-apart/) [Michael Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hudson/) > [Throughout our history, the words of the Declaration have inspired immigrants from around the world to set sail to our shores. These immigrants have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/throughout-our-history-the-words-of-the-declaration-have-inspired/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [That's what this country is. It's made up of immigrants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bria-vinaite/that-s-what-this-country-is-it-s-made-up-of-immigrants/) [Bria Vinaite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bria-vinaite/) ## More by Elizabeth Strout > [By the time they were pulling into the parking lot of the A&P, the mood was fading, the moment gone. Amy could feel it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/by-the-time-they-were-pulling-into-the-parking-lot-of-the-a-p-the/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [“what young people did not know. They did not know that lumpy, aged, and wrinkled bodies were as needy as their own young, firm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/what-young-people-did-not-know-they-did-not-know-that-lumpy-aged-and/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [“I said on the phone to my mother, “I think I’m going to write the story of the Burgess kids.” “It’s a good one,”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/i-said-on-the-phone-to-my-mother-i-think-i-m-going-to-write-the-story/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [“And she learned - freshly, scorchingly - of the privacy of sorrow. 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There is deep anxiety and tension around success here.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/i-like-people-a-lot-but-i-am-not-comfortable-in-literary-new-york/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [The fact of the matter is I always have a really high sense of responsibility to the reader, whether it's a few readers that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/the-fact-of-the-matter-is-i-always-have-a-really-high-sense-of/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [“Why do you need everyone married?" Christopher has said to him angrily, when Henry has asked about his son's life. "Why can't you just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/why-do-you-need-everyone-married-christopher-has-said-to-him-angrily/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [“one of those things about getting older was knowing that so many moments weren’t just moments, they were gifts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/one-of-those-things-about-getting-older-was-knowing-that-so-many/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [I don't think of myself as a fast reader. I just read a lot. When someone else might think, 'I might do the dishes,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/i-don-t-think-of-myself-as-a-fast-reader-i-just-read-a-lot-when/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) [Explore all 205 Elizabeth Strout quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) ## More Immigration quotes > [That's what this country is. It's made up of immigrants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bria-vinaite/that-s-what-this-country-is-it-s-made-up-of-immigrants/) [Bria Vinaite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bria-vinaite/) > [Throughout our history, the words of the Declaration have inspired immigrants from around the world to set sail to our shores. These immigrants have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/throughout-our-history-the-words-of-the-declaration-have-inspired/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Europe is creating the flight of refugees that's tearing it apart politically, and leading rightwing nationalist parties to gain power to withdraw from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hudson/europe-is-creating-the-flight-of-refugees-that-s-tearing-it-apart/) [Michael Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hudson/) > [We need to fight to prove to people that it is possible to form an E.U. migration policy that is in line with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-orban/we-need-to-fight-to-prove-to-people-that-it-is-possible-to-form-an-e/) [Viktor Orban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-orban/) > [All of us take offense to anyone who reaps the rewards of living in America without taking on the responsibilities of living in America.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/all-of-us-take-offense-to-anyone-who-reaps-the-rewards-of-living-in/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [A lot of Broadway has that immigrant narrative of America as a place where you can become something else against all odds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-kass/a-lot-of-broadway-has-that-immigrant-narrative-of-america-as-a-place/) [Deborah Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-kass/) > [Ed Koch once said that New York City is where immigrants come to audition for America. That's what happened to my parents; that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-manuel-miranda/ed-koch-once-said-that-new-york-city-is-where-immigrants-come-to/) [Lin-Manuel Miranda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-manuel-miranda/) > [“If all the developed countries would let in just 3% more immigrants, the world’s poor would have $305 billion more to spend, say scientists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/if-all-the-developed-countries-would-let-in-just-3-more-immigrants/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [“...the haunted always take refuge in stillness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-dodd/the-haunted-always-take-refuge-in-stillness/) [Christina Dodd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-dodd/) > [These men of many nations must be taught American ways, the English language, and the right way to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/these-men-of-many-nations-must-be-taught-american-ways-the-english/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) > [Let's be honest, if the Democrats didn't support ignoring our nation's immigration laws, there is no way they could win the presidency or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nugent/let-s-be-honest-if-the-democrats-didn-t-support-ignoring-our-nation-s/) [Ted Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nugent/) > [I think what Democrats need to do is they need to work for the country and make sure that not only the southern border…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-tester/i-think-what-democrats-need-to-do-is-they-need-to-work-for-the/) [Jon Tester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-tester/) > [We need to remain a nation that doesn't just welcome but that celebrates legal immigrants who come here seeking to pursue the American Dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/we-need-to-remain-a-nation-that-doesn-t-just-welcome-but-that/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [The Chinese describe themselves as political refugees. 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