UPDATE (2):
Press Statement:
On Saturday at 11:43AM on November 11, 2023, Mayor Patrick McGrady received an email from a Mohamed Moses Fahmy who claimed to represent an organization called the Greater Baltimore Area Motel Consortium. His email claimed that this consortium has been working with the State of Maryland and Mayor of New York City to provide housing, food, security, and case management services specifically at 980 Hospitality Way Aberdeen, MD 21001.
Specifically, Mr. Fahmy indicated that this site could house as many as 115 families of primarily Spanish-speaking migrants eligible for Temporary Protective status for a period of 1 year.
Immediately, Mayor McGrady sought to find answers to many of the questions raised by this email. Mayor McGrady involved the Aberdeen Police Chief, the Director of Planning, and the Harford County Executive in this email chain to collaborate on ways to learn more about this proposal before it became a reality.
By Monday evening, lots of emails were circulated among different groups, trying to get to the facts of the matter. On Monday evening at the regular meeting of the Aberdeen City Council, Mayor McGrady informed the Aberdeen City Council of the email received on 11/11/2023 and the efforts to learn more about the situation.
On Tuesday morning, Mayor McGrady spoke on the phone with Harford County Executive Bob Cassilly to discuss the email and the steps each were taking to learn more about the problem and inform all the relevant government entities to ensure preparation for the potential challenges to come from the relocation of these migrants to our community. Mayor McGrady and County Executive Cassilly agreed on the seriousness of this matter, and agreed to work together to try and understand the situation so we could stop it before it became a reality.
By Tuesday afternoon, the Manager of the Comfort Suites at 980 Hospitality Way in Aberdeen confirmed that they would not be participating in New York’s Refugee program.
Also on Tuesday, Mayor McGrady received a call from Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler with questions about the email. Mayor McGrady forwarded the email to Sheriff Gahler.
On Wednesday morning, the Office of Wes Moore confirmed to Mayor McGrady that the Governor is not aware of any plans to house migrants in Aberdeen.
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From Harford County government:
County Executive Cassilly Statement on Efforts to Relocate Undocumented Immigrants to Harford County
County Executive Bob Cassilly today issued the following statement on possible efforts to relocate undocumented immigrants to Harford County.
“My office received an unsolicited letter on Monday from an unknown organization indicating that they were working to bring up to 105 families of undocumented immigrants from New York City to the Holiday Inn in Belcamp. A letter from the same organization was sent to the mayor of Aberdeen about bringing 115 families to the Comfort Inn & Suites on Hospitality Way. We are working to verify the accuracy of these letters.
My administration immediately reached out to the governor’s office and the Maryland Department of Human Services and officials in New York City, and they have no record of this effort. However, if it is true, I will use every resource at my disposal to prevent it.
The people of Harford County are kind and generous, but we do not have the resources, school capacity, or funding to support 220 immigrant families with an unknown number of children who will overwhelm our schools. These families are the victims of the federal government’s inhumane and disastrous open border policy and New York’s virtue-signaling as sanctuary city. I will not allow Harford County citizens to pay for the failures of leadership in Washington D.C. and New York City.”
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From Harford County Councilman Aaron D. Penman:
Councilman Penman has learned of a letter sent to County Executive Cassilly over the weekend and of a potential meeting set for later this week with the Cassilly Administration and a Motel Trade Association Executive and activist who is looking to relocate illegal immigrants from New York City to multiple motels in Harford County.
“The citizens of Harford County have a right to know if the County Executive is entertaining a deal to bring illegal immigrants into our community and place extreme challenges on our public safety, schools, and social service infrastructure. Harford County is not the appropriate location to place illegal immigrants who are being used as ping pong balls in President Biden’s failed open border policy.”
Councilman Penman stands firm against illegal immigration and will advocate to stop this and any further efforts to burden our community’s infrastructure with those who are here illegally.
Today, Councilman Penman has announced his intention to draft legislation that will prevent hotels and motels in Harford County, which are designed for temporary short-term housing, from being converted into makeshift shelters to house illegal immigrants.
Why can’t everything be discussed with the pertinent parties instead of spread all over where it gets misconstrued?
Penman & Cassully are at once once again. There is no love lost between these two.
Trying to further your political career Penman?? Maybe wait to get all the facts before you cause ANOTHER fight.
That’s because you cannot trust politics… It’s called hypervigilance!
Never voted for Wes Moore and NEVER will. These democrats are subverting the US Constittion against the will of the majority of AMERICAN citizens. And why does Mr .Moore want to bus and have illegal aliens in Harford County for at least two years? He lost Harford County.
Am I reading this right? Cassilly had this for almost a week and told no one? Called governor to get money? Maybe setting up meeting? Bob is a democrat through t and through. Don’t believe a word out of his mouth!
Calm down, Mary Pat. Smh.
In which cell of your brain did you concoct such nonsense?
I’m all in for this…
Councilman Penman has announced his intention to draft legislation that will prevent hotels and motels in Harford County, which are designed for temporary short-term housing, from being converted into makeshift shelters to house illegal immigrants.
As a follow up, we must recognize it has only been 21 years since 9-11, and yet these so called “leaders” put our kids and grandkids at risk. These “politicians” will be long gone, but the day most likely will come just like the attacks of 9-11, where sleeper cells were in this country for years if not decades before they attacked. History is repeating itself all over again. Yet liberals, if that’s what they really are, will take more control over our daily lives once again, in the future after the next round of terrorist’s attacks. As if the damage done by the nonfactual LOCKDOWNS didn’t do enough damage to our country, we must learn to stand tall and say NO to tyranny now and in the future.
Please, please do not allow illegal immigrants to live in motels in Harford county. We have been getting plenty of section 8 housing and our population is growing to fast for our county – more and more housing developments are being built, schools are overcrowded, roads are so congested and crime is growing. Please keep our county small and safe.
Penman spreading misinformation like usual. Gahler’s puppet
Penman = Gahler
Penman is an agent for Gahler not for the people. Penman’s wife is in Gahler command staff and Penman is a supervisor for Gahler.
All Harford County Executives, regardless of which towns they represent, “MUST” take into consideration the existing problems now being delt with by each families paying taxes in this county, before accepting any additional “Non Tax Paying” illegal aliens. The strain on our communities has become overwhelming already, with existing new delvelopments which are already straining our utilities and any means to address these issues.
With any luck at all, Bob Cassilly and Penman MUST work together, as with all council persons, to ensure this issue does not come to fruition.
Penman doesn’t want to work with Cassilly. The Aberdeen mayors email makes it clear he sent this info to Jeffrey Gahler, who clearly sent it to his puppet Penman. They are trying to derail Cassilly, with the help of Robey. Santa ain’t leaving me coal, I am eating All the cookies. Santa is leaving Penman, Gahler and their posse a coal brick this year and a box of tissues to drown their sorrows.
They pay sales tax. Someone pays taxes on the property that houses them. If they’re working on the books they pay income tax. And they’re not eligible for many of the services taxes pay for.
They are a bigger net positive to the tax base than you are.
Letter looks fake to me. I can find no Baltimore Area Motel Consortium, Great or not. Fear tactic is what I am thinking.
Wow you googled it and couldn’t find something.
Excellent detective work Nancy Drew.
If google doesn’t show it to me on my screen, it must not exist.
Kirk Smith is the only comment that makes sense so far.
As far as comments that Cassilly and Penman are at it again. Their letters seem to be saying the exact same thing.
Also there is only one logical reason to reject this offer and here it is; “””The people of Harford County are kind and generous, but we do not have the resources, school capacity, or funding to support 220 immigrant families with an unknown number of children who will overwhelm our schools. These families are the victims of the federal government’s inhumane and disastrous open border policy and New York’s virtue-signaling as sanctuary city. I will not allow Harford County citizens to pay for the failures of leadership in Washington D.C. and New York City.”””
PS for once I agree with Cassilly.
Situations like this demand that all of our elected officials in Harford County pass immediate legislation to stop this before it can develop into anything. Cassilly should be on WCBM, WBAL and all major news media outlets and have a press release with the Sheriff and members of the Harford County legislative branch of government ASAP.
This press release should include the immediate passage of legislation forbidding the use of any Harford County business or entity from housing undocumented aliens.
Additionally, with the Sheriff announcing publicly that Harford County is not a Sanctuary County, and that Harford County will work directly with ICE to have any illegals immediately deported out of Harford County upon arrival.
“Harford County leaders question proposal to house undocumented immigrants from New York City”
https://www.wmar2news.com/local/harford-county-leaders-question-proposal-to-house-undocumented-immigrants-from-new-york-city
This mysterious letter is starting to smell like a false flag planted by Penman, Glassman, Snee and the “usuals” because Cassilly isn’t on the team and they don’t get to exploit the county for personal gain without limits. They’re like crying babies…the plan was to have Penman be the next County Executive putting them in the driver’s seat once again so they’re using every nasty, skullduggery technique to smear and besmirch Cassilly. The mayor of Aberdeen came out already stating Penman’s comments were completely false. Penman has no support in his own district and no chance at being elected even dog catcher after he’s so poorly handled just a few months on the council. Which lowlife will Glassman pick next? We’re on to them now…
What Harford County really needs is a new Sheriff.
It is bizarre to me that Gahler is thick as thieves with Glassman, Snee, Euler, Robey, etal. What the heck is it the sheriffs business where development takes place unless it advantages him in some way. Could the corruption go farther than just a few campaign contributions? Never made sense to me that somebody would risk their reputation over $1000 bucks for campaign expenses. I wonder. Is it just having the power to green light any development they want? That Hickory Apt mess was Glassman’s doing. I bet it was fast tracked because suddenly it was a done deal.
County Executive can only serve 2 terms. That doesn’t mean he can’t run 4 years later.
“No evidence exists to back up plans that would bring undocumented immigrants to Harford, officials say”
https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/harford/aegis/cng-ag-hotel-coalition-letter-20231117-6ca4s6tuwzad5ece3qy5mbblg4-story.html
Penman is a buffoon….Good Old Boy politics in Harford County. Somebody somewhere is getting their pockets greased. Follow the money.