Portland, Maine, is “overwhelmed” as migrants arrive to the state’s largest city in droves and homeless natives fall by the wayside, activist Richard Ward says.
Portland is being “overwhelmed” with illegal immigrants and forced to use municipal buildings, such as the historic basketball arena in the Portland Exposition Building, as emergency housing for immigrants descending on the coastal city, according to right-wing activist and Portland native Richard Ward.
Ward spoke with Fox News host Ashley Strohmier on Wednesday. He previously caused a stir in southern Maine by holding up a sign that said “It’s Okay to Be White” and was assaulted in front of Portland City Hall while demonstrating with his sign, The Maine Wire reported in February.
“I think we should be taking care of Americans first,” Ward said. “It’s not that the asylum seekers are bad people. Some of them are great people. But we have Americans here sleeping under bridges, people sleeping in tents. There’s just no shelter for them.”
Most migrants who come to Maine’s biggest city are from Angola, Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to the Portland Press Herald. Ward suggested Portland natives are unhappy, claiming the city gave homeless natives sleeping bags and tents while migrants were housed in the Portland Exposition (Expo) Center.
The Expo Center reopened Monday and will shelter roughly 300 people per night, the Associated Press (AP) reported. Those who seek shelter will be provided a bed, three meals daily, health screenings and vaccinations.
City spokesperson Jessica Grondin told the Press Herald the cost of running the Expo Center would likely exceed $100,000, so the city is seeking donations to help mitigate the cost. (RELATED: 75 Percent Of Population Growth In Maine’s Largest City Comes From Foreign Born Individuals)
Catholic Charities Maine launched a brand-new project in July 2022 designed to support asylum seekers in Southern Maine, specifically Portland, according to the organization’s official website. Citing 40 years of settling immigrants in Maine, the charity said the project was in response to a request from Portland to help support and house asylum seekers in the state.