***  WATCH ***  SPIRITED DEMONSTRATION REGARDING GOVERNOR HEALEY’S PLAN TO HOUSE MIGRANTS AT YARMOUTH RESORT

WEST YARMOUTH, Massachusetts –  In a media statement this past Thursday from the Governor’s Office – 8/31/23 – Maura Healey ordered up to 250 National Guard members to provide basic services at emergency shelter hotels across the state, specifically the ones that do not currently have a contracted service provider. The administration is also launching Regional Rapid Response Teams to assist with overseeing shelter sites and serving as a direct contact to the administration to address any concerns. Meanwhile, plans to house migrant families in 80 to 100 rooms at the Yarmouth Resort, a motel located at 343 Route 28, have been “temporarily” placed on hold due to “code-related issues,” but plans are apparently moving forward as soon as those issues are dealt with, according to an email from Governor Healey to Robert Whritenour, Yarmouth’s Town Administrator. This past Saturday – August 26, 2023 – HN posted an article regarding the perplexing issue of undocumented, unvetted foreign migrants being housed on the Cape – paid for with tax dollars – at a time when a large number of local, life-long residents are struggling with their own conditions of poverty and homelessness. “As of Wednesday morning – 8/30/23 – 5,906 displaced and migrant families were staying in state shelters. That is 356 more families than Aug. 7, the day before Healey declared a state of emergency in response to a rapid increase in migrant arrivals that has pushed emergency shelters to the brink,” according to a Boston Herald report. The Herald’s article goes on to point out that according to the Healey administration, the state is spending “roughly $45 million a month on sheltering and providing basic necessities to displaced and migrant families.” Last week, HN was also informed about as many as 50 migrants possibly being bussed to and sheltered at a hotel in Eastham, much to the dismay of several local officials who were reportedly blindsided by the news. That number is closer to 35 migrants according to a comment reportedly made to the Cape Cod Times by Sen. Julian Cyr. HN reached out to a high-ranking Eastham police official for comment but has not heard back yet. HN suspects the numbers of migrants being funded and sheltered on the Cape by Governor Healey’s administration to be much, much higher.   And the numbers are continuing to grow by the day by all accounts. There are at least two migrant “welcome centers” already open and operating within the commonwealth, in Allston and Quincy, with a third being considered in Worcester, according to an Aug. 18, 2023 article in the Boston Herald. To where these ever-increasing numbers of migrants are being relocated should be a matter of public record. There needs to be full transparency regarding these growing numbers and the communities impacted, along with a true and accurate accounting on how many tax dollars are actually being spent. HN suspects the $45 million a month is a lowball number. The following demonstration outside the Yarmouth Resort is in reaction to Govenor Healey housing undocumented, unvetted migrants, that have recently flooded across the U.S. Border with Mexico illegally, using tax dollars at a time when an unacceptable number of tax-paying Cape residents are struggling with their own issues of poverty, lack of housing and homelessness. Some protestors were also concerned that some local residents are being forced out of their rentals due to an increase in costs, while the Healey administration is spending tax dollars to house undocumented migrants from other nations. As you will see and hear in the following HN Video, the concerns voiced by today’s demonstrators are numerous. Most of the demonstrators were there voicing their opposition against Governor Healey’s plan, while a much smaller number on scene voiced their strong disapproval of the demonstration. [HN VIDEO – PRESS PLAY] P.S. – Today’s Hytown Vignette is a brought to you by Van Morrison…  [CLICK IT/CRANK IT! HEADPHONES ABSOLUTELY OBLIGATORY!]