City officials in Methuen are calling on help from Massachusetts with dozens of migrant families living in a hotel unexpectedly.
Mayor Neil Perry expressed frustration after meeting with the state's Department of Housing and Community Development Thursday.
"What we expected from the call and what we walked away from the call were two different things," Perry said.
He said he was seeking answers after the families were brought to a hotel in the city without notice.
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"Eight days later, there's still no concrete plan on how to deal with it," Perry said.
After meeting with the DHCD, Perry said he learned the 55 families include 86 adults and 130 children, more than 70 of whom are school-aged.
"They didn't even present, you know, how many of those school-aged children are what age, whether they would be going to Methuen or not," he said.
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Many of the migrants are from Haiti, Colombia and Venezuela, and none are undocumented, Perry said after the meeting.
"Most of them are from within Massachusetts, is what we were told. We're hearing that some are from other states," he said.
"It's not going to stop," said Director Denise Rincon of the Venezuelan Association of Massachusetts. "It's going to escalate.
Rincon says Venezuelan migrants have been arriving to Massachusetts in increasing numbers since June — some coming from Texas, others from New York.
"Venezuelans, really, are trying to seek or look for a better place to stay, and they have heard that the state of Massachusetts may be the best place for them," Rincon said.
The DHCD confirms that it's sheltering a number of families in available motels, which it uses when there aren't any open units in the shelter system.
"As a resident, I pretty much follow the committees and things that are going on within our town, and I had no clue this was happening," said Lisa Gomez.
She thinks there should have been a better plan as to where the people were going to end up and how to help them become a part of the community.
"I can only imagine, coming here, you want a better life, but now, you've put the burden on other people, and it's just, it's not fair to that community, the burden," Gomez said.
John Vargas said Perry called him Friday night asking for help feeding the migrants.
"I felt bad for the families, of course, because they were hungry," Vargas said. "It's a tough position to put a city in to just drop people on them like that."
