107 Migrants Sent To MA Towns Unannounced, Irking City Leaders

KINGSTON, MA — Officials in Kingston and Plymouth are frustrated and searching for answers after both cities this week became temporary homes for more than 100 migrants. All of them were sent by the state with little to no notice, according to multiple reports.

Kingston officials are scrambling to accommodate the influx of people placed in the Baymont by Wyndham hotel off Route 3, CBS Boston reported. Town Administrator Keith Hickey told the station he received a call from the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development on Friday, telling him nine people would be placed in the hotel.

By Monday morning, that number had grown to 107.

According to the Boston Globe, 64 children were among the group, comprised chiefly of unauthorized immigrants and non-English speakers from Haiti.

"I have expressed my disappointment to the representatives of DHCD," Hickey told the Globe. "The Kingston School Department is going to have to educate these children with resources and tools that were not expected, that were not anticipated."

Plymouth Town Manager Derek Brindis received a similar call from the state late Tuesday, he told Globe. Bindis said he was told 27 families would be relocated to the Plymouth area this week.

"These are people who need help, and Plymouth is a town that has always risen to the occasion to assist those in need," Brindisi told the Globe. "But it would have been easier to provide support if we had been a part of the planning process."

The surge in migrants is part of a more significant immigration issue the nation faces. Thousands of migrants have arrived in Massachusetts in recent months, and nonprofits and public agencies have been struggling to keep up.

In September, Florida Gov. DeSantis had two planes of undocumented immigrants flown to Martha's Vineyard to protest the Biden administration's border policies. Officials on the exclusive island off Cape Cod were sent scrambling to find shelter for 50 migrants shipped in a move one Massachusetts elected official said was "depraved."

In a statement provided to WHDH, Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development spokesperson Kelsey Schiller said that due to high demand for shelters, "some families recently have been temporarily placed in hotels, including in Plymouth and Kingston, while more permanent shelter or housing is found."

According to Hickey, Kingston's public health nurse visited the group at the hotel this week to provide medical care and check vaccination statuses, WCVB reported. He also said state officials have been on-site to assist the group.

State officials told Hickey would likely move into longer-term housing by the end of the year.

Still, Hickey had a request for state officials.

"How about a call next time?" he told WHDH. "That's all, really. Just let us know what's happening, and let us work with you while you're trying to find a resolution and a solution so we can help."