PORTLAND, Ore. — Inside a hotel near the Portland airport, 80 asylum seekers are living on borrowed time.
Gabriela Morales and her daughter left Venezuela for the U.S. six months ago. Morales was told she would find help in Portland as she waits for her asylum claim to process.
“I tried to find work in Chicago; there wasn't anything. They told me that it was better here, that there are jobs — that they provide help here,” she said.
A local nonprofit called the Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice, or IMIrJ, has been paying for her and dozens of others to stay in a hotel for the past month. That nonprofit ran out of money for the program last week.
Morales said she tries not to think about what happens next.
“I didn't even want to think about that because in reality, we don't have anywhere to go,” she said.
The 80 people consist of 20 different families, including at least 30 children all under the age of 12. They could all end up on the street come the end of this week.
“The money had just run out, the organization couldn't pay any longer, so we were looked at as a resource,” said Grace Zarpak, a policy advisor for Portland Commissioner Rene Gonzalez.
Commissioner Gonzalez’s office spent about $10,000 from their budget to keep the families in the hotel for one more week. That ends on Friday. They also asked the county to step in. The county gave the group of asylum seekers 24 four-person tents.
“It's a heightened concern ... we were very concerned, because with tents doesn't come hygiene, being able to go to the bathroom, shower, like that,” said Zarpak.
“We are seeing so many folks coming here — we have this group of folks, we have so many other folks who have come through, and the chair's office is a little disappointed in the state for not coming up with even more resources,” said Denis Theriault, a spokesperson for Multnomah County.
Theriault said the county has discussed "doing more than tents," but they're still in talks with other partners about how to help these people both in the short-term and moving forward.
“The prospect of offering tents with no place to place them to house 80 refugees, including 39 children, is unconscionable,” said Gonzalez.
IMIrJ, the nonprofit that has been supporting these families, sent KGW the following statement:
"The City of Portland has graciously stepped in to provide a bridge until the end of the week while city, county, and state governments work collaboratively to find a solution. We are very grateful for the collaboration and leadership of the city in this response — we know that no one wants to see children sleep outside.
"At this time in Multnomah County, any family who calls 211 to say they will be unhoused tonight faces a 3- to 6-month waitlist for emergency family shelter. This is incredibly challenging for any family, and especially so for our newest neighbors who do not have friends with a couch, extra room, or car to sleep in.
"No matter where we are from and when we arrived in Oregon, we all want to build a better future for ourselves and our children in this state. We believe that all children and families deserve to have a roof over their heads, whether they’ve been here 3 hours or 3 decades. We know that a lack of access to shelter as a small child is associated with chronic health conditions and trauma that impacts people their whole lives."
KGW has reached out to Governor Tina Kotek's office for comment and has yet to hear back.
"Well, I wouldn't know what to tell you," said Gabriela Morales. "What we want is that they help us. That's why we've done what we've done. We've tried to find a way for them to know that we really need the help. Because we don't know where to go. We're here waiting."
This is a developing story and will be updated with more details as they emerge.