Healey declares emergency to aid shelter shortage as immigration surges
Photo | Courtesy of State House News Service
Gov. Maura Healey
Gov. Maura Healey has declared a state of emergency around the situation in Massachusetts' shelter system, as a rapidly rising uptick of immigrants has strained state resources.
Close to 5,600 families are currently housed in the state's emergency shelter system, Healey said during a press conference at the State House on Tuesday morning. This number is 80 percent higher than one year ago, she said.
"These numbers are being driven by a surge of new arrivals in our country who've been through some of the hardest journeys imaginable. They are the face of the international migrant crisis. They're here because where they came from is too dangerous to stay there," Healey said. "Massachusetts has and will always be a beacon of hope, compassion, humanity and opportunity."
The governor delivered an "urgent and formal appeal" to the federal government to "remove barriers and expedite federal work authorizations," as well as to help fund new shelters.
Massachusetts is the only state in the country with a "right-to-shelter" law, which guarantees homeless families access to emergency shelter.
As the number of undocumented immigrants relocating into northeast states has spiked in recent months, Healey isn't the only government official who has looked to take emergency actions.
New York City Major Eric Adams asked a judge in May to relieve the city from its own right-to-shelter obligation.
Representative and candidate for state Senate Peter Durant called Tuesday for Healey to file legislation to repeal Massachusetts' housing mandate law.
"Our homeless shelters are maxed out. Hotels across the state have been converted to shelters. And the problem is growing on a daily basis. Worse yet, all of this assistance is being taken away from our legal residents and it is a potential safety risk for the children. It is time to repeal the Right to Settle law, so Massachusetts will stop being a magnet state. Today, I am asking Governor Healey to file emergency legislation to repeal it," Durant wrote in a release.
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