Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey has declared a state of emergency and is calling for federal action, saying the state’s shelter system is being strained by an influx of migrants.
The Democrat is asking the Biden administration to expedite work authorizations for the immigrants and increase funding to states – calls already being made by other regional leaders such as Democratic New York Governor Kathy Hochul. Healey says there are nearly 5,600 families living in state emergency shelters, up from 3,100 a year ago. The governor says many are migrants who recently arrived in the Bay State.
“State employees and our partners have been miracle workers throughout this crisis – going above and beyond to support families and using every tool at their disposal to expand shelter capacity by nearly 80 percent in the last year. But in recent months, demand has increased to levels that our emergency shelter system cannot keep up with, especially as the number of families leaving shelter has dwindled due to a lack of affordable housing options and barriers to securing work,” Healey said in a statement Tuesday. “I am declaring a state of emergency in Massachusetts and urging my partners in the federal government to take the action we need to address this crisis by streamlining the work authorization process and passing comprehensive immigration reform. Many of the new arrivals to our state desperately want to work, and we have historic workforce demands across all industries. I am also calling on all of our partners – from cities and towns to the faith community, philanthropic organizations, and human service providers – to rise to this challenge and do whatever you can to help us meet this moment.”
The Healey administration says the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and The Boston Foundation have launched a relief fund to help meet the needs of the new arrivals.
