Migrants on move, blindsiding new town
Migrants are being moved out of a Yarmouth motel and off of Cape Cod, but an official in a South Shore town set to house the families next said the state did not give a heads-up on the transfer.
After residing in Yarmouth since last September, roughly 39 migrant families have started to clear out of the popular summer vacation beach town, with some being moved to Kingston and Boston, and others to additional shelter sites across the Bay State.
Six families were moved Tuesday, with the remaining scheduled to be transferred out of Harborside Suites — the motel that they took up residence in — by Thursday evening “if all goes according to plan,” said Jay Gardiner, Yarmouth’s director of public health.
Gardiner disclosed that Kingston and Boston are two locations set to bring in the families during a Select Board meeting Tuesday night.
Kingston Town Administrator Keith Hickey confirmed to the Herald yesterday that his town of roughly 12,600 residents, nestled along the South Shore, had started to receive several migrants. His town had been housing 95 families, as of Monday, according to a report released by the Executive Offices of Housing and Livable Communities and Administration and Finance.
“The Town wasn’t notified about the people coming from Yarmouth,” Hickey said in an email. “My understanding is the state has 95 hotel rooms contracted with the former Baymont Hotel. As people leave, more people are brought in.”
The press office for Boston Mayor Michelle Wu declined to comment, referring the Herald to the state. A spokesperson for the state housing office confirmed the families sheltered in Yarmouth “are being transferred to existing (emergency assistance) shelter sites, including in Boston and Kingston.”
“These existing shelters have service providers on site to support the families with wraparound services and rehousing search,” the spokesman said in an email. “The providers and state work with local officials to ensure a smooth transition for families and children in shelter.”
Town officials in Yarmouth received word earlier this month that all 39 migrant families staying at Harborside Suites would be relocated to “various shelters” this week. The motel sparked controversy by housing families since last September — a violation of a local bylaw that limits temporary stays to less than 30 days.
The state housing office earlier this month declined to disclose to the Herald what towns and cities would be hosting the families from Yarmouth, citing confidentiality. The office did not immediately respond to a Herald inquiry on the state’s process of informing municipalities ahead of the arrivals.
Kingston was in the early spotlight of the Massachusetts migrant crisis in October
2022 when it initially received 107 migrant families at a local hotel. The town, along with Plymouth and Methuen, did not receive advance notice from the Baker administration about the emergency housing situation.
“A heads up would have been nice,” Hickey told the Herald at the time, expressing his frustration with state officials from the Department of Housing and Community Development.
Republican lawmakers are pushing for full transparency from the Healey administration, with some telling the Herald earlier this month they believe the closed-door operations are a disservice to towns and cities that will be receiving migrant families in ensuring they have the proper resources to serve them.
“Housing and relocating migrant families at taxpayer expense shouldn’t be a covert operation,” Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, said in a statement.
Moving the migrant families out of Yarmouth is part of “ongoing shelter consolidation efforts,” according to the state housing office. Harborside Suites had been staffed by the National Guard but lacked a contracted service provider.
Yarmouth Building Commissioner Mark Grylls issued a violation notice to the motel last October.
Harborside Suites sought a reversal, but the Zoning Board of Appeals late last month approved upholding Grylls’ notice — a delayed action from January when motel attorney Mark Boudreau told board members families were slated to be moved by the end of February to a “larger facility in the Foxboro area” but that location failed a safety inspection.
Cape resident Janet Emack who volunteered at Harborside Suites said the migrants housed there were primarily Haitians but also people from Honduras, Puerto Rico, Sudan. She highlighted how some community members donated clothing, toys and books to the families and how MassHire helped write resumes and apply for jobs.
“There’s nobody there who somebody may call illegal,” Emack said Tuesday. “They’re moving on to different shelter systems, but the hope is they’re working on the next step of being able to be more independent.”