LOWELL — The roughly 252 rooms at the Inn & Conference Center in Downtown Lowell are filling up with migrant families, fulfilling a pledge by Gov. Maura Healey last August to meet the families fleeing violence and unrest in their home countries with “compassion and resourcefulness.”
The migrant families are in the country lawfully and allowed in with the knowledge and consent of the federal government.
In February, additional families are expected to arrive from Sturbridge, Executive Office of Housing & Livable Communities Director of Municipal Relations Tyler Newhall said in an email obtained by The Sun.
“In the interest of consolidating unstaffed shelter sites, the Executive Office of Housing & Livable Communities (HLC) is planning to transfer 46 families to Lowell from a site in Sturbridge on Wednesday & Thursday, February 14-15th,” Newhall wrote in a Wednesday email to local and state officials.
The first group of migrants to arrive in Lowell came from Billerica, comprising 23 families of 84 individuals with 16 school-aged children.
During the month of January, EOHLC spokesperson Kevin Connor said approximately 35 families that were staying in a hotel in Fairhaven were expected to arrive in Lowell. And about 35 families would also be coming to the ICC from Swansea, followed by approximately 12 more families from Waltham.
The group from Sturbridge will represent the largest infusion of school-aged migrant children into the Lowell Public Schools, but the district is prepared to welcome them, said spokesperson Jen Myers.
“We will be receiving 31 students from Sturbridge,” she said by email on Thursday. “They span all grade levels PreK-12.”
Given the city’s immigrant history, LPS has experience integrating diverse learners into its educational system, particularly in the area of English language learners. The ELL program provides language-based services, which enable students who have limited English proficiency to receive the same level of communication and access to educational opportunities as native-English speakers.
A 2021-2022 LPS Language Access report noted that Spanish, Khmer and Portuguese were high incidence languages in the district, meaning a language that was spoken by 5% or more of the total population.
Fully 50% of newly enrolled students indicated a home language other than English, and 36% of that cohort were students born outside of the United States.
“Lowell Public Schools staff are experienced in welcoming groups of newcomer students every year at different points throughout the school year,” Myers said. “Staff have been working with the families at the ICC to register students and make sure families are familiarized with the schools and the programs and opportunities offered. Things have been going well.”
During the City Council’s Tuesday night meeting, a motion by Councilors Kim Scott and Sokhary Chau motion requested that City Manager Tom Golden provide the council with an update from Commonwealth Care Alliance on the “acclimation plans for the asylum seekers” at the ICC.
Echoing Healey’s remarks, Scott said, “We want to be welcoming and make sure that they have everything that they need as well.”
Scott said she wanted to know whether the families were receiving the services they needed to be properly integrated to the city, such as on-site ELL classes, workforce development training, transportation services and work permits.
Migrants allowed into the U.S. must apply for an Employment Authorization Document, or work permit, in order to be eligible to legally work in the United States. The permits are processed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, but Healey said the wait times stretch months to years for migrant applicants.
“The truth is our new arrivals are most eager to work,” Healey said in October. “And frankly, we could use their help at this time. Our state, as so many states are, is encountering significant labor shortages.”
Chau said he thought the council should tour the ICC and receive a presentation from CCA on its operations and support programs.
“There has to be communication with us and the residents and the people in charge,” he said.
Councilor Paul Ratha Yem supported the motion, which was unanimously passed, and added that “Personally, I would like to welcome those who came to the city and stay at the ICC.”
In the EOHLC email, which came after Tuesday’s meeting, EOHLC said CCA programming will be fully implemented once the majority of families are settled in at the ICC.
“Once these transfers occur, the contracted on-site provider, Commonwealth Care Alliance (CCA), will begin offering their full scope of support and stabilization services, which range from provision of basic daily needs to case management and housing search,” Newhall wrote. “Representatives from assisting state agencies have informed families of the move and continue to assist with preparations for their transfer.”