Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey declared a state of emergency for her region amid a surge of migrants who are seeking shelter which has caused a strain on state resources.
During a press conference at the State House on Tuesday, Healey said that there are nearly 5,600 families who are currently housed in Massachusetts' emergency shelter system. She added that this number represented an 80% rise compared to the number seen a year ago.
Massachusetts State of Emergency
In her statement, the Massachusetts governor said that the numbers were being driven by the surge of new arrivals who have gone through what she said were the "hardest journeys imaginable." Healey added that asylum seekers are the face of the international migrant crisis.
Healey argued that the migrants came because they found their original home too dangerous to live in due to various circumstances. She added that Massachusetts has and will always be a beacon of hope, compassion, humanity, and opportunity, as per CBS News.
The governor also delivered an "urgent and formal appeal" to the federal government to have barriers removed, expedite federal work authorizations, and help the funding for new shelters in the state. Massachusetts is currently the only state in the U.S. that has a "right-to-shelter" law, which guarantees homeless fugitives access to emergency shelters.
Healey is not the sole government official who has looked to take emergency actions amid the rising number of undocumented immigrants relocating to northeast states in the last few months. In a similar situation is New York City Mayor Eric Adams who in May asked a judge to relieve the city from its own right-to-shelter obligation.
On Tuesday, representative and candidate for state Senate Peter Durant called for the Massachusetts governor to file legislation to repeal the state's housing mandate law. He said that the state's homeless shelters have already been maxed out.
Growing Migrant Crisis
With the current situation, migrants who are waiting for their asylum rulings are able to get U.S. work permits. However, they need to wait nearly half a year before they can apply, based on information provided by the Immigration Reform Law Institute. While work permits can be issued after 30 more days, they usually take more time due to various delays, according to the New York Post.
On the other hand, Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll urged Bay State residents to consider the possibility of opening their homes to migrants. She argued that this is not a crisis that the state's family shelter system was designed to handle properly.
She noted that for the past few months, the state government and its providers have been working tirelessly to stretch the system as far as it could go. However, Driscoll said that they need more people to work on the matter because it truly needs a team effort.
In July, Healey noted that there were roughly 100 families a day who were seeking shelter and highlighted the issue of declining numbers of people leaving the shelter. She also said that costs were hitting $45 million every month on programs, said Fox News.
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