Coogan: No, there are no recent migrant families that have moved to Fall River

The issue of migrant families coming into Massachusetts has been a polarizing topic as of late, however, Mayor Paul Coogan says they have not been placed recently in Fall River.

In a publication on Wednesday, it was reported that 71 families were now living in temporary, long-term shelter in Fall River. Apparently, none of them are migrant families.

Mayor Coogan stated Wednesday that he contacted the Fall River school system asking if any migrant children had recently been placed there and he was told they had not.

Coogan also stated previously that he was contacted by the Governor’s Office concerning housing migrant families. With the city’s one hotel having a deed restriction, Fall River doesn’t really have the room for them.

Other nearby communities such as Dartmouth, Somerset, and Taunton, however, have recently seen an influx of migrant families staying in hotel rooms.

In mid-September, more than 6,300 families were in the state’s shelter system, an increase of more than 60 percent since the 3,800 families involved when Gov. Maura Healey and Lieutenant Governor Driscoll took office in January, according to Driscoll.

Driscoll told the Local Government Advisory Commission at the time that between 20 and 35 families seek shelter each day, occasionally swelling as high as 55 families, which “creates an immediate need to try and find spaces.”