30 asylum seekers bused from Sanford again to Portland
Thirty asylum seekers, principally from Angola, had been bused from Sanford to Portland Wednesday, as Sanford struggles to help greater than 100 immigrants who arrived within the metropolis unannounced since final week.
A number of the Sanford arrivals had beforehand left shelters in Portland and had been in a position to return there, however others stated they didn’t have wherever to go.
Lots of the individuals on the bus slept outdoors Sanford Metropolis Corridor on Tuesday night time. When morning got here, they stated they had been informed by Sanford police to board a bus to Portland.
Portland was in a position to soak up two households who had been positioned on the Expo, which is presently working as an emergency shelter for asylum seekers.
However Portland’s household shelter director, Mike Guthrie, informed a bunch of childless adults town couldn’t promise them a spot to remain. As a substitute, they had been directed to town’s prevention and diversion program.
“And if in case you have anyone you may contact in the neighborhood the place you can keep, they might assist name these individuals to clarify what’s occurring and to see if they will get another person to take you in if the shelter is full,” he informed the group.
Guthrie additionally informed them he had not been contacted by Sanford prematurely of their arrival.
A number of asylum seekers stated they didn’t know anybody in Portland and would attempt to discover a church to take them in.
Previous to this bus arriving, different asylum seeker households who had left shelters in Portland after listening to rumors of higher housing choices in Sanford had since returned to these shelters.
At an emergency assembly Tuesday night time, Sanford Metropolis Supervisor Steven Buck informed the Metropolis Council that employees had been vetting the asylum seekers who had arrived in Sanford to see if that they had left housing or shelter choices in different municipalities, which might make them ineligible to obtain normal help in Sanford.
This text seems by a media partnership with Maine Public.
