Yesterday afternoon, the Town issued a press release on the close to 70 immigrants who had been sheltering at the Red Roof Inn.
According to the announcement, families were relocated to other towns on Monday.
Last week, officials had been told to expect a status update on Monday, August 14. They anticipated that the state would be relocating families at that time, but couldn’t be certain.
The press release issued yesterday confirmed that the transfers did take place. As for the contributed items collected from our community, the release states that those that weren’t used “are being made available to our surrounding communities who are facing similar circumstances”.
As for funds donated to the Friends of the Southborough Youth Commission, I know that at least some of those were used to put together bags with toys for children in the about 18 families. Those were delivered last Friday afternoon.
Below is the Town’s full official statement:
On Monday, August 14, 2023, Southborough Town officials were notified by the Commonwealth that the 18 asylum seeking families currently residing temporarily in Southborough were being transferred to other Massachusetts locations. As of that afternoon, the transfers of the families were complete. All donations that were made to assist the Town in providing services to these families are being made available to our surrounding communities who are facing similar circumstances. The Target Community Registry has now been deactivated.
We would like to thank those Town officials and community partners, and especially our loyal residents, who helped to support the service delivery to these families since they arrived in Southborough on August 4, 2023. Under the direction of the Emergency Management Director, Fire Chief Steven Achilles, Lisa Braccio and Carol Willoughby of the Town’s CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) team helped to administer and staff the operations center on a daily basis, packaging and delivering meals and services to the families. Interpreter Jean Riguel Ulysse helped to provide the necessary link between the service providers and the families, who spoke little to no English. Health Director Heather Alker and Youth and Family Service Director Sarah Cassell and their staff also provided valuable assistance in ensuring the health needs of the families were met, and that support services were made available as needed. Town officials and residents were extremely generous with their time and their donations to provide the necessities for the families during their stay. Manager Steve Zagzoug and his staff at the Red Roof Inn are to be commended for answering the call of the Commonwealth to provide a housing option for these families in their time of need. We would also like to extend our thanks to our legislative delegation, Representative Kate Donaghue and Senator James Eldridge, for their efforts and mindful collaboration to support our operations during this time.
This call to service is just another example of what makes Southborough a great place to live and work.
For any inquiries related to this emergency need, please contact Mark Purple, Town Administrator, mpurple@southboroughma.com
Following up on Governor Healey’s request for federal action for the situation, on Wednesday, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell and AGs from 17 other states issued a public letter to the Secretary of Homeland Security. It urged “immediate action to ensure work authorization for new arrivals to help meet our workforce needs, conserve safety net resources for the most vulnerable in our states, and provide our newcomers the opportunity to contribute to the country in which they have sought refuge.”
The letter states that most of the adult immigrants in the recent influx want to work to provide for their families but are forced to rely on social services while many employers are having trouble finding workers. It highlights:
A significant portion of the recent migrant population – many of whom are seeking asylum – have been paroled into the country and are therefore immediately eligible for work permits, but processing delays leave too many waiting ten months or more for authorization.
Updated (8/21/23 1:50 pm): I accidentally referred to close to 70 immigrant families instead of close to 70 immigrants (about 18 families).
