'Very fluid situation.' Migrants, displaced families housed in Bourne rouse opponents

BUZZARDS BAY — Opponents of Gov. Maura Healey’s administration sending migrant and displaced families to Joint Base Cape Cod and to Bourne confronted the Select Board Tuesday, after protesting outside the meeting at Bourne Veterans Memorial Community Center.

The Select Board seemed unable to answer questions about the arrival of migrant and refugee families, the group members said. The use of taxpayer dollars, and the effect on the Bourne public school system, public health and public safety were raised as concerns by members of the group speaking at the meeting.

“We will research the questions raised,” Select Board Chair Mary Jane Mastrangelo said at the meeting. “There are concerns. We have to pay attention to the concerns. It’s our job to pay attention.”

Town Administrator Marlene McCollem gave an initial report to the board on Tuesday.

Mastrangelo promised the group of opponents, numbering 25 to 35 in the meeting room, that McCollem would provide strategic information on Sept. 12.

What is the Healey administration plan?

The state has tapped 120 shelter units on Cape Cod to house migrants and displaced people as demand for the Massachusetts emergency assistance system grows.

The number reflects scattered apartments, congregate shelters, and rooms in motels and hotels. Joint Base Cape Cod is also at capacity, sheltering 62 families. In August, Gov. Maura Healey's administration declared a state of emergency, citing an influx of migrants seeking shelter and services as the state already faces an affordable housing crunch.

On Cape Cod, migrants and displaced people are being housed in Bourne and a handful of other towns in addition to on Joint Base Cape Cod on the Upper Cape.

Bourne has not been asked to assume ‘associated costs’

In McCollem’s report to the Select Board on Tuesday, she said Bourne resources and budgets have not yet been tapped. She said the migrants and displaced families continue to represent “an unfolding but temporary emergency housing crisis, especially with expectant mothers.”

McCollem also said Bourne would continue to cooperate with state efforts but otherwise will remain diligent to not routinely divert town responses to migrants' and displaced families' needs or deliver “preferential treatment.”

She said the state has not yet asked the town to assume “associated costs” and that Bourne staffing to date has not been “negatively impacted” by the migrants and that no on-site service has been provided to the families.

Some 55 youngsters are in Bourne classrooms, McCollem said, adding the town would ultimately seek state help with per-pupil migrant expenditures.

“It’s a very fluid situation,” she said. “Circumstances may change very quickly. The town will respond fairly and appropriately.”

State Sen. Julian Cyr, D-Truro, told the Times on Aug. 25, that state education money has been set aside through the Student Opportunity Act, which has specifically expanded funding to programs for English language learners.

Health Board Chairman William Doherty said his group is “obliged” to report the time when the emergency motel sheltering is due to conclude.

“The question is, ‘how do we evict?’ Is there any method to enforce the law on the emergency shelter situation? Who do I notify?”

‘Bourne should have been prepared’

Bay Motor Inn owner Fred Carbone, who was not housing migrants or displaced families as of Tuesday, said at Tuesday's meeting that state law expressly provides for the town administrator or Board of Health to move individuals out of local motel units at the end of 89 days.

State Rep. Steve Xiarhos, R-Barnstable, said he understands both the “fear and frustrations” building in Bourne. He said Yarmouth officials cited the state law mentioned by Carbone as a way to deal with and block migrant stays of 90 motel days.

“We should have a plan,” Xiarhos said. “We need solid answers. Have these kids been vaccinated?“

The migrant situation should be shared in Massachusetts but not all towns have motels, Xiarhos said.

He said migrant families on Joint Base Cape Cod are protected by state police, the Massachusetts National Guard and private security units.

“They are guarded and fenced in,” he said. “There are checkpoints. Vans arrive to provide travel to necessities and appointments.”

In Yarmouth, state officials eyed placing up to 100 migrant and displaced families at the Yarmouth Resort, a motel with condominium ownership on Route 28 in West Yarmouth. But the plan was placed on hold when it surfaced that the building did not possess a certificate of occupancy, according to state Rep. Chris Flanagan, D-Dennis.

Migrant, displaced families on Cape Cod Cape Cod motels are part of an emergency shelter system for migrants, others. Here's why.

How do you qualify for the emergency shelter program?

In order to qualify for the Massachusetts emergency shelter system, people must meet several requirements. Those within a certain income level, with children, or who are pregnant may be eligible.

For those without U.S. citizenship, some documentation is required. Noncitizens qualify if they were "lawfully admitted for permanent residence or otherwise permanently residing under color of law in the U.S.," according to the state's eligibility guidelines.

Stress on school staffers, drivers, coaches should be explored, one resident said

Susan Barrachini of Pocasset said at the Tuesday meeting it makes no sense to place “non-vetted non-citizens” on the base, saying it puts families already living on the base at risk. She also said the school department should conduct a survey of school staffers, bus drivers and coaches to determine how they are handling the additional stress she said was an issue with migrant and displaced families in the school system.

Barrachini also said the school system lacks the infrastructure to deal with language barriers while it copes with a lack of staff support. “There are so many elements in play here with no programs in place to support learning.”

Mastrangelo said families bound for Bourne were undergoing a “vetting process” in Boston. “We have standards in place for rules and vaccinations," she said. “But this tonight is not a forum for discussing the country’s immigration issue.”

Members of the crowd quickly replied. “Yes, it is.”

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Bourne will respond fairly to displaced families, town official says