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Residents in a New England town are fuming that they have not been consulted on plans to convert a former state prison into a tax-payer-funded migrant shelter for hundreds of people.
The state is refurbishing Norfolk, Massachusetts’ Bay State Correctional Center, a former minimum-security dorm-like facility, to accommodate migrants and homeless individuals who are currently holed up at Boston’s Logan International Airport and are on the waitlist for an emergency shelter program. The facility is located on the grounds of Massachusetts Correctional Institution (MCI), a medium-security prison.
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Norfolk has a population of about 11,500 and voted heavily in favor of President Joe Biden in 2020.
The governor’s office tells Fox News Digital it expects the shelter to be operational next month as a “temporary safety-net site for families experiencing homelessness.” Families who will stay at the site will be subject to the 30-day engagement requirements and a monthly recertification process to demonstrate they are taking action toward getting work permits, jobs and housing.
MIGRANT CHILDREN IN MASSACHUSETTS LIVED AMONG SEX PREDATORS AS DEM GOVERNOR CLAIMED SHELTERS ‘VETTED’: REPORT
Residents and local officials expressed frustration over the sudden news that the state is opening an emergency shelter for migrant families at the former Bay State Correctional Center, pictured.(Google Earth)
But at a tense special Select Board meeting on Wednesday, about 300 residents gathered to raise alarm over the new facility opening in their town and blasted the state for keeping them in the dark about it.
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Residents said they want answers about the impact on schools, police and emergency services, pointing out that municipal budgets are already stretched thin.
“Let’s face it, we don’t want it here. We don’t,” resident John Semas said, according to GBH.
“And, it doesn’t make us bad people, it doesn’t make me not compassionate, it doesn’t make me a bad father.” Semas was among a small group of people donning shirts and placards that read “Save Norfolk: No Shelter,” the publication reports.
He blasted Gov. Maura Healey, a Democrat, who had left for a climate change conference at the Vatican instead of engaging with her electorate.
Healey last summer declared a state of emergency over the surge of migrants into the state and the Bay State has struggled to get a grip on the crisis. The state has previously said that it is obliged to cater to the migrants because of its 1983 sanctuary city law which was passed to deal with the relatively small number of homeless families and pregnant women, although critics have said the law does not apply to migrants who are not U.S. citizens.
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In the 2020 presidential election, 4,100 Norfolk residents voted for President Biden compared to 2,570 who voted for former President Trump. Massachusetts is a deep blue state with its nine Congress members and two senators being Democrats.
HAITIAN MIGRANT CHARGED WITH RAPE OF 15-YEAR-OLD GIRL ENTERED CONTROVERSIAL PAROLE PROGRAM: SOURCES
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey was criticized for leaving for a climate change conference at the Vatican instead of engaging with locals. (Jonathan Wiggs/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Select Board Chair Jim Lehan said he initially learned about the shelter plans via social media and was angry that the town did not receive prior notice.
“It’s their building [the state’s] and they don’t need our permission to use it, but it would have been nice to partner at the front end to understand what their plans were,” Lehan said, according to GBH.
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It is unclear how many migrants will be sent to the facility, which was decommissioned in 2015.
The state’s emergency assistance director, Scott Rice, says that the facility remains in good condition and has the space to accommodate around 140 families.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Rice said families there will have access to showers and bathrooms on each floor. The facility also has a cafeteria, a gymnasium, a large common room and offices that will be used for case management and administrative activities.
Rice added that play areas for children will be set up along with classroom spaces for adults to learn English and get job training.
The site will be staffed 24/7 by a contracted service provider and families will be provided with transportation on and off site. The razor wire on the fence surrounding the facility will be removed, and the gates will remain open, so families will be free to exit and return as needed, the governor’s office says.
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It is unclear how much the entire operation will cost the taxpayer.
Healey’s office says that the administration will hold a community meeting prior to its opening in order to answer questions and connect with community members who want to provide sports, arts and music programming for the children in shelters.
The administration says it has already met with local officials including the Norfolk legislative delegation, the Town Administrator, members of the Select Board, as well as the fire and police chiefs.
The state is refurbishing the Bay State Correctional Center, a former minimum-security dorm-like facility in the town of Norfolk, to accommodate migrants who are currently holed up at Logan Airport. (JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)
At Wednesday’s meeting, resident Lauren Vives said the shelter could bring a financial burden to the town, which only has two elementary schools, one ambulance, a small police and fire department and no grocery store.
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“The proposition to increase our town’s population by 4% overnight is preposterous,” Vivas said, according to GBH. She said that the plan shows “a lack of respect” for the town.
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Not everyone was against the shelter. Resident Lucy Bullock-Sieger said it was a good idea to help the migrants and said Norfolk is not a town of fear.
“I can’t imagine being the mom of young children and trying to find a better life,” she said, according to GBH.
Fox News Digital reached out to Gov. Healey’s office for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Bones and skulls visible in the back seat of a car near an abandoned cemetery on Philadelphia’s outskirts led police to a basement filled with body parts, which authorities say were hoarded by a man now accused of stealing about 100 sets of human remains.
Officers say a Tuesday night arrest culminated a monthslong investigation into break-ins at Mount Moriah Cemetery, where at least 26 mausoleums and vaults had been forced open since early November.
Investigators later searched the Ephrata home and storage unit of Jonathan Christ Gerlach, 34, and reported finding more than 100 human skulls, long bones, mummified hands and feet, two decomposing torsos and other skeletal items.
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“They were in various states. Some of them were hanging, as it were. Some of them were pieced together, some were just skulls on a shelf,” Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse said.
Most were in the basement, authorities said, and they also recovered jewelry believed to be linked to the graves. In one case, a pacemaker was still attached.
Police say Gerlach targeted mausoleums and underground vaults at the 1855 cemetery. It’s considered the country’s largest abandoned burial ground, according to Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery, which helps maintain the 160-acre landmark in Yeadon that’s home to an estimated 150,000 grave sites.
Police had been looking into the string of burglaries when an investigator checked Gerlach’s vehicle plates and found he had been near Yeadon repeatedly during the period when the burglaries occurred. Police say the break-ins centered on sealed vaults and mausoleums containing older burials, which had been smashed open or had stonework damaged to reach the remains inside.
He was arrested as he walked back toward his car with a crowbar, police said, and a burlap bag in which officers found the mummified remains of two small children, three skulls and other bones.
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Gerlach told investigators he took about 30 sets of human remains and showed them the graves he stole from, police said.
“Given the enormity of what we are looking at and the sheer, utter lack of reasonable explanation, it’s difficult to say right now, at this juncture, exactly what took place. We’re trying to figure it out,” Rouse told reporters.
Gerlach was charged with 100 counts each of abuse of a corpse and receiving stolen property, along with multiple counts of desecrating a public monument, desecrating a venerated object, desecrating a historic burial place, burglary, trespassing and theft.
He is jailed on $1 million bond. No lawyer was listed in court records. A message seeking comment was texted to a cellphone linked to him.
It’s a new year, filled with new challenges. The General Assembly is back in session. Rhode Island’s economy is flat at best, and according to the University of Rhode Island economist Leonard Lardaro, the state is in a recession. Rhode Island is also in daily legal conflict with the Trump administration.
Add that the state is trying to recover from a mass shooting at Brown University, which killed two students and wounded nine others.
For Governor Dan McKee, it is a critical time.
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He has announced he is running for reelection—the Democratic primary is just nine months away.
McKee’s poll numbers have plummeted to record lows.
A poll released by the University of New Hampshire in November of 2025 found that in the race for the Democratic nomination for Governor of Rhode Island, 29% of likely Democratic primary voters (N=359) say they would currently vote for former CVS executive Helena Foulkes, 13% would vote for Speaker of the RI House of Representatives Joe Shekarchi, 11% would vote for incumbent Governor Dan McKee, 6% would write in someone else, and 42% are undecided.
Is the 74-year-old McKee criss-crossing the state to reassure Rhode Islanders, listening to residents’ ideas, and sharing his vision for the state in his second term?
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GoLocal offers a recap of the McKees’ public schedule for the first ten days of the month.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 10 & SUNDAY, JANUARY 11, 2026
No public events.
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FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2026
No public events.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026
2:00 PM
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Governor McKee will deliver remarks at the Rhode Island Interfaith Coalition to Reduce Poverty’s 18th Annual Interfaith Poverty Vigil.
LOCATION:
RI State House Rotunda
82 Smith Street
Providence, RI
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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2026
No public events.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2026
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No public events.
MONDAY, JANUARY 5, 2026
9:30 AM
Governor McKee will deliver remarks at a groundbreaking ceremony for a new community learning center at the Cross’ Mills Public Library.
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LOCATION:
Cross’ Mills Public Library
4417 Old Post Road
Charlestown, RI
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SATURDAY, JANUARY 3 & SUNDAY, JANUARY 4, 2026
No public events.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 2, 2026
11:00 AM
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Governor McKee will join members of Rhode Island’s Congressional Delegation and local and state leaders for a rally hosted by Climate Action RI, Climate Jobs RI, and the AFL-CIO in support of Revolution Wind and other offshore wind projects.
The 2025-2026 Vermont high school winter season has begun. See below for scores, schedules and game details (statistical leaders, game notes) from basketball, hockey, gymnastics, wrestling, Nordic/Alpine skiing and other winter sports.
TO REPORT SCORES
Coaches or team representatives are asked to report results ASAP after games by emailing sports@burlingtonfreepress.com. Please submit with a name/contact number.
▶ Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter: @aabrami5.
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▶ Contact Judith Altneu at JAltneu@usatodayco.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter: @Judith_Altneu.
SATURDAY’S H.S. GAMES
Girls basketball
Games at 12:30 p.m. unless noted
Missisquoi 50, Winooski 49
M: Kelsey Paradee 14 points. Aurora King 13 points.
W: Taraji Bradley 18 points. Moo July Htoo 14 points.
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Note: King hit the game winner at the buzzer to give the Thunderbirds the win.
