Massachusetts’ Dem governor now wants to restrict illegals in crime-ridden migrant shelters
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey is hardening her approach to the state’s migrant crisis in the face of mounting security concerns and just days before President-elect Trump takes the oath of office.
Healey, a Democrat, is proposing drastic changes to the way the state houses migrants, proposing that all families staying in emergency shelters be in the country legally, with rare exceptions. The move would effectively prevent new migrants from staying in government shelters.
The change, which comes after an overhaul of the state’s Right to Asylum Act, stipulates that all asylum seekers must prove that they are either US citizens, lawful permanent residents or here “under color of law.” Exceptions are made for households that include children who are US citizens or lawful permanent residents.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey is toughening her approach to the state’s migrant crisis in the face of mounting security concerns and just days before President-elect Trump is sworn in. (Adam Glanzman/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The governor also wants to beef up background checks for anyone staying at the shelter by requiring them to disclose criminal convictions in the state and elsewhere.
Her proposal would require applicants to verify their identity, residency and immigration status before they can be housed. Currently, asylum applicants are allowed to be accommodated before submitting any documentation.
It would also limit those eligible due to evictions to the state, not anywhere in the country. For example, this would eliminate the scenario where a migrant is evicted in another state and then comes to Massachusetts and receives shelter benefits.
“I believe these changes are appropriate and necessary to ensure the long-term sustainability of the state’s shelter system in a manner consistent with the original intent of the legislation,” Healey said in a statement. “Additionally, these proposed changes will allow us to continue to ensure the safety of our system, support cities and towns in addressing the needs of unhoused families in their communities, and put us on a path to a more fiscally sustainable shelter system.”
Migrants even slept on the floors of Boston’s Logan International Airport as the shelter system became overcrowded. (Erin Clark/The Boston Globe, left, Joseph Prezioso, top right, David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe, bottom right.)
The moves come amid security concerns at state-run shelters and various crimes linked to illegal migrants in the state. Data from the state show that there have been hundreds of serious incidents, including rapes, in the shelters.
Last month, an illegal immigrant was allegedly caught with an AR-15 and about $1 million worth of fentanyl in a state-subsidized hotel room. An illegal immigrant from El Salvador was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a child while Immigration and Customs Enforcement saw the recent increase in illegal immigrants arrested for sex crimes in the Boston area and throughout Massachusetts.
Healey said in November that her state police will “absolutely not” cooperate with the new Trump administration’s expected mass deportation efforts, warning that they will use “every tool in the toolbox” to “protect” residents of the blue state.
Healey’s new proposals on “continued congressional inaction and lack of federal government assistance,” following a review of the state’s right to shelter law.
The proposals must be approved by the Legislature, and Healey outlined her recommendations in a letter to the President of the Senate, the Speaker and Speakers of the House of Representatives and the Senate on Ways and Means, calling for changes to be made to the Emergency Assistance (EA) Supplemental Budget.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey visit the Melnea A. Cass Recreation Complex, which has been used to house more than 300 migrants. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
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She recently announced that the administration will phase out the use of hotels and motels as shelters by the end of 2025.
Massachusetts passed its Right to Shelter Act 40 years ago, designed to provide housing for families in need, especially pregnant women and children who have been left without a home.
In recent years, migrants seeking refuge under this law have overwhelmed their shelter system. Last year, Healey announced a state of emergency in the state due to the increase and called for federal action. She also admitted that state policies can attract migrants.
Migrants even slept on the floors of Boston’s Logan International Airport as the shelter system became overcrowded.
According to the data, about 50,000 migrants have come to the state since 2021. A July report by the Center for Immigration Studies.
Democratic House Speaker Ronald Mariano said the new proposal is in line with what lawmakers are trying to do.
“Since the beginning of the crisis in the shelter system, the House has consistently led efforts to ensure that the Commonwealth’s emergency assistance program can remain financially sustainable over the long term, resulting in reforms that have limited maximum lengths of stay and required job training for individuals in the shelter system,” he said. in a statement to the Associated Press.
A security guard walks the perimeter of the main living area at the state’s emergency migrant shelter at the Melnea A. Cass Recreation Complex. (Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr also welcomed the proposal.
“With a growing consensus not only on Beacon Hill, but across the Commonwealth, that major changes are urgently needed, we have an opportunity to finally take action that will make the system safer, more accountable and transparent, and more sustainable,” Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr said in a statement.
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The Massachusetts Republican Party accused Healey in August of quietly spending more than $1 billion on the state’s migrant crisis.
“The Healey-Driscoll administration covered up nearly a billion dollars spent in secrecy, leaving Massachusetts residents in the dark,” Massachusetts Republican Party Chairwoman Amy Carnevale said in a statement at the time.
“They withheld critical information about 600 incidents involving police, firefighters and EMS. By blocking reporters at every turn, the administration impeded the flow of information to the public.”
