Malden Mayor Announces City Is Housing Migrants At Local Motel

MALDEN, MA — Malden Mayor Gary Christenson announced Wednesday that the city currently is providing housing to several migrant families at a local motel.

Christenson said in a statement that 10 rooms at the Econo Lodge Boston-Malden, located at 321 Broadway in Malden, are "being occupied mostly by families with young children who speak Haitian Creole."

Patch still was waiting for confirmation from the mayor's office, but the housing of migrants almost certainly is connected to the Massachusetts "Right to Shelter" law. Massachusetts is the only state with a law that guarantees families with children a place to stay if they meet certain criteria, and more than 80 cities and towns have received migrants to date, according to the New York Times.

Christenson said that several aid agencies are helping to make sure the migrants have food, clothing and other essentials.

He also said that the city was informed that Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey has deployed the National Guard, which will be in Malden every day between noon and 6 p.m.

"The National Guard will have officers on hand who speak Haitian Creole and who will assist with coordinating food vendors, helping with medical and immigration appointments, and ensuring access to service providers, among other things," Christenson said.

The mayor said his office, Police Chief Glenn Cronin and Director of Public Health Chris Webb have been in regular contact with Healey's office.

According to Christenson, six children connected to the migrants are attending Malden Public Schools.

On Aug. 8, Healey declared a state of emergency in a bid for federal help with the influx of migrants, many of whom have come from Haiti.

On Aug. 31, Healey authorized more than 200 National Guard members to assist the more than 2,500 migrant families living in Massachusetts hotels.

In a recent New York Times article, Woburn Mayor Scott Galvin — whose community reportedly is housing 150 migrant families in local hotels — said the current situation was not sustainable.

Galvin said the "Right to Shelter" law was "passed at a different time, and was not meant to cover what we're seeing now."

"We're going above and beyond, while some communities around us are not being impacted, and we don't have endless capacity in our schools," Galvin said. "The benefits that are bestowed on migrants make the state a very attractive destination, and without some changes, this challenge is not going to abate."

Last month, a group that has been classified as a neo-Nazi organization demonstrated outside three Woburn hotels a little over a week after it was announced that migrant families were being housed in local hotels.

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