Portland scrambles to house 64 asylum-seeker families as cockroach-infested ... trends now

Officials in Portland are scrambling to find homes for 64 asylum-seeker families after the taxpayer-funded motel they were staying in was shuttered over a cockroach infestation, as Maine's migrant crisis deepens.

The state Department of Health and Human Services revoked the lodging license of the Motel 6 on Riverside Street, Portland, where more than 100 rooms were are used as emergency shelter for asylum seekers.

Inspectors found a cockroach infestation and other code violations at the motel — one of the few in Portland that accepts General Assistance vouchers for homeless, asylum seeker and other recipients.

The city is now working to rehouse the families by July 1.

The case spotlights how the migrant crisis has reached across the US — even Maine, where taxpayers complain of paying millions of dollars each year on migrants, when residents also need help.

'Currently, approximately 64 rooms at Motel 6 are occupied by families with children,' city spokeswoman Jessica Grondin told DailyMail.com.

'City staff are working diligently to find and transition these families to more permanent housing as soon as possible — two more families are scheduled to be moved out tomorrow.'

Grondin acknowledged that the motel's eye-watering room rate — which has been 'as high as $225/night' — was a burden on taxpayers.

By one estimate, the shabby motel swallowed up more than $10 million a year.

'Given the cost to the city and state, we've been working on rehousing families as quickly as possible into more cost-effective solutions,' she said.

Portland health officials conducted a safety inspection of the motel in mid-March, and issued a notice of

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