(RightWing.org) – The impact of President Joe Biden’s failure to secure the nation’s southern border has reached the point it’s having a significant impact on communities nationwide. For instance, Right Wing recently reported that New York officials warehoused migrants at a Brooklyn high school, forcing students to resort to remote classes. Now, reports are indicating that hard-working taxpayers in Maine have started paying rent for migrants.
In June 2023, Portland, Maine, NBC affiliate WCSH reported that asylum seekers could start moving into taxpayer-funded apartment buildings the state was constructing in Brunswick by the end of December. State officials authorized the construction of five new structures containing 12 units each. State officials predicted migrants would occupy all 60 units by the end of February.
On January 10, The National Desk reported that builders had completed most units, and taxpayers had started footing the bill for those brand-new living accommodations for homeless migrant families. Making matters worse, the program allows them to stay in those apartment units for up to two years while their cases work through the immigration court system.
How is this possible? Simple. Democrats hold a trifecta in Maine, meaning they control the governor’s office and both legislature chambers.
In April 2022, Maine lawmakers created the Emergency Housing Relief Fund Program (“Program”) to help homeless people in the state. They recently authorized $55 million for the fiscal year 2024 to go toward roughly 50 state-wide programs providing emergency transitional and permanent housing and other “critical services,” like legal assistance. Lawmakers justified the allocation of state funds for migrants by pointing to federal work restrictions imposed on asylum seekers.
WCSH reported that hundreds of migrant families had arrived in Portland since the beginning of 2023. Officials warehoused roughly 300 at the Portland Expo Center, and about 140 sought shelter at the city’s Homeless Services Center. The remaining asylum seekers and their family members were living in hotels, with relatives, or on the streets.
Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services administers the program with the assistance of Maine Housing, the state’s housing authority.
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