Portland Mayor Kate Snyder joined WGAN Morning News Host and CEO of the Maine Policy Institute Matt Gagnon Thursday to discuss the city’s response to its ongoing migrant and housing crises.
Mayor Snyder revealed that Governor Janet Mills had not yet responded to the city officials’ most recent letter to the Governor asking for her support on a proposal to shelter asylum seekers at Unity Environmental University.
The letter, sent June 29, also asked the Governor to use the National Guard to set up an emergency shelter if the Unity campus cannot be used for transitional housing.
Snyder told Gagnon that upwards of 1600 asylum seeking individuals have arrived in Maine since this January, and that more specific figures would be provided at the City Council meeting on Monday, July 17.
The mayor stressed that the migrants are here legally under federal law, but that they have insufficient federal funds to support them in finding housing and other services.
“Under federal law, those people are here legally,” Snyder said. “But unlike the refugee resettlement program, they don’t have federal resources that follow them, they don’t have a case worker, they don’t have the same level of federally-provided infrastructure as folks seeking asylum.”
“They’re really in this terrible situation, where again they’re here legally but can’t work, and they don’t have the housing or support services to follow them from the federal government,” she said.
Snyder referred to recent efforts by Maine’s U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree and Sen. Susan Collins to change federal law related to the six-month residency work requirement.
Portland’s Municipal General Assistance (GA) program has been “stretched so beyond capacity,” Snyder said.
“As a city of 68,000 people, we’re just not equipped to manage the volume, in terms of need, when it comes to people who are looking for General Assistance benefits,” she said. “We don’t have the housing, we don’t have the emergency shelter, we don’t have the staff to support people with those needs.”
[RELATED: Maine Lawmakers Seek General Assistance Reform Amid Migrant Crisis]
Although Portland did not get the legislative increase in state reimbursement for GA spending it was looking for, it will receive one-time funds in the FY 2024 budget which the city will allocate to housing.
Hundreds of people are living in tents in Portland, the mayor said, adding the Unity proposal would help free up beds at the city’s Homeless Services Center to get those people sheltered.
[RELATED: Portland Officials Address Protest Over “Deplorable Conditions” at the Portland Expo]
Snyder also said the city will be reactivating its host homes program, where residents volunteer to house asylum seekers in their homes, a program which fell away during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s heartbreaking when we see that we’re not able to meet [their] needs,” Snyder said.
“We’re doing everything we can, and it is not enough. So that’s why really need help,” she said.
Listen to Matt Gagnon’s full segment speaking with Portland Mayor Kate Snyder on WGAN below:
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="20859 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=20859">9 Comments
If they can’t work here, why do they even want to be here in the first place? Wouldn’t just sending them back to their home countries fix the problem?
Portland is my hometown and when I (sort of) grew up there were families that struggled financially. We are a far wealthier country today than then so what are the real reasons for the homeless mess?
Certainly illegal aliens, refugees and asylees have siphoned off valuable resources meant for citizens living in tents, but this didn’t happen overnight. The housing shortage existed at least since I used to work in downtown in the 80s so why hasn’t that problem been corrected by now?
If you’ll notice, there are 9 city councilors who are all Democrats and not your traditional JFK Democrats. They’re Leftists/socialists/Marxists who create problems with their foolish ideology and then expect the taxpayer to contribute more of THEIR hard earned money to fix the same problems they created.
A famous “Democrat” president said, “Elections have consequences”. If the people of Portland keep electing these Leftists with their reimagined public policies expect more of the same or much worse.
Screw you Portland. You have voted for this B.S. for 20 years. If I had my way not one thin dime to bail you out. Typical socialist A.H. everything is great until you run out of other peoples money. Not to worry though. We have that Ugly Nasty COW Czarina Mills in the Blaine house. She will ride to your rescue with our $ right after she gives herself a raise. Typical tax and spend demoKKKrats.
Here is your help, quit calling them migrants, they did not walk here from south america, africa, wearing clothes better them most, using cells better then most and well fed better then most. They were imported by gobalists to become a burden on taxpxpayers.
So Portland has no resources but they are happy to transfer the problem to Union Maine where the resources are obviously abundant. NOT!
Smarten up people.
You wanted them you keep them we dont weant them or you up here
The asylum seekers who arrived before January are able to work. How many of the 18,000 are working? Seems most are walking up and down congress street and crazing the maine mall.
Democratic policy ignored reality. Reality bites back.
1600 ‘freeloaders’ since January! Well how about sending them back to their country of origin! It would be cheaper to charter a flight instead of spending millions on food stamps, free medical, free education and free housing. We did not ask for them to come here and we certainly do not need them when there are Mainers living in the streets, unemployed and unable to pay for medical. Charity begins at HOME! Take care of Mainers FIRST!