Several days ago, I successfully treated a patient, who was in cardiac arrest, using an automatic external defibrillator (AED). Dr. Lown was a Jewish Lithuanian refugee, who settled with his family in Lewiston at age 14 in 1935. Collaborating with another immigrant refugee, Barouh Berkovits, Lown developed the defibrillator in 1961, which revolutionized the treatment of sudden cardiac arrest. Immigrants have made and continue to make essential contributions that affect the world. Current Lewiston resident immigrants will also enrich the state of Maine and our country.