Migrants wind up in Methuen hotel, unbeknownst to the mayor

METHUEN, Mass. — It is dated, tired and in need of patch and paint. The Days Hotel has certainly seen better days, but suddenly it’s in the spotlight.

Last Friday, the state settled about a dozen migrant families into the hotel — approximately fifty people in all, including several children. Just one problem: nobody told the mayor — nor the city council.

“I am upset that people were placed here without my knowledge,” Mayor Neil Perry told Boston 25 News. He promised to give an update on the situation after a meeting with the state Department of Housing and Community Development, scheduled for late Thursday afternoon.

One of the mayor’s concerns is long-term housing for the migrants — which would seem, at the moment, a dubious proposition in Methuen. Right now, according to zumper.com, Methuen has just 17 available apartments, ranging in monthly rent from $1,300 for a studio to $2,175 for a two-bedroom. And the city has no apartments available with more than two bedrooms.

One migrant, who spoke with Boston 25 News anonymously — and in his native Spanish — said he’d actually been in the area for some time, staying with a friend, but was relocated to the hotel after the recent birth of his second child. His journey to the U.S. took six months, he said, and included treks through a range of countries from Chile to Mexico.

The man would not say how he and his family got to Massachusetts from the southern border — but said he, like many of those in the hotel, knew a friend or family member already in the state.

At this point, it is unknown the legal status of the migrants. But Massachusetts policy is to provide emergency shelter for families and pregnant women — sometimes in hotels. Local social service agencies augment the state’s efforts by providing for other basic needs — including food.

Thus, the migrants are getting fed. But when they arrived last Friday, it was Bada Bing, a local business, that came to the rescue — sending pizza and pasta down to the Days Hotel to help feed the hungry group.

Methuen State Representative Linda Dean Campbell tells Boston 25 News she was gratified to know Mayor Perry was meeting with state officials. She called the hotel housing situation inhumane.

“There are a lot of safety concerns for these families at this site,” she wrote in a statement. “And the basic support mechanisms that they will need are not in place.”

The migrant we spoke with said his hope is to find work and a place to learn to speak English so he can better support his young family.

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