MA Migrant Crisis: Homeland Security Officials To Visit As Healey Seeks Support

BOSTON, MA — Officials from the Department of Homeland Security will visit Massachusetts this week to address the migrant crisis, with Gov. Maura Healey saying the state badly needs federal support.

Healey declared a state of emergency in August as the Massachusetts emergency shelter system hit a crisis point due to a steep increase in homeless and refugee families in the state. There are an estimated 22,000 parents and children now in the state system, and the state is to spend close to $600 million on the family shelter system in fiscal year 2024.

"Our administration welcomes the opportunity to show officials from the Department of Homeland Security the extremely difficult situation we are facing," spokeswoman Karissa Hand said in an email to Patch Tuesday. "Congress needs to act on President Biden’s $4 billion supplemental request which would make available some funding for cities and states."

Hand added that Healey's office "will continue to advocate for more funding in addition to that and changes to the work authorization process." Many refugees arriving in Massachusetts have can work, but are barred from getting jobs due to federal rules.

An official with Healey's administration confirmed that they have been in touch with the Biden administration for several weeks about a visit.

In their own statement, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said the department is "coordinating with the City of Boston and the State of Massachusetts to identify ways we can continue to maximize our support for communities that are addressing the needs of migrants while enforcing tough consequences against those without a legal basis to remain in the country."

The spokesperson added that the administration has already delivered over $1 billion in support to communities and non-profit organizations, including $2.8 million to the City of Boston this past fiscal year.

"We will continue to offer best practices and guidance to interior cities as they work to integrate eligible noncitizens into the American workforce, and to manage our nation’s broken immigration system in a safe, orderly, and humane way until Congress acts to fix it," they said.

The Department of Homeland security has processed 110,000 individuals for expedited removal and completed an average of 4,000 credible fear cases each week—double the previous high, officials said.

Since May 12, the DHS has removed or returned over 295,000 individuals to 152 countries, according to officials. This compares to 180,000 removals and returns during the same period in 2019.

Healey has called up 250 National Guard members, which were sent to staff hotels across the state that are being used as temporary shelters for families. The National Guard members arrived in September to help with logistics around transportation, enrolling children in school and distributing food, clothing and other necessities.

Massachusetts is the only state in the U.S. with a law requiring the state to shelter families, which includes pregnant women and couples with one or more children. With regular shelter beds in short supply, the state has been placing families in hotels, sometimes to the surprise of local cities and towns — as seen recently in Framingham, Marlborough and Shrewsbury.

Massachusetts is also in the midst of a housing crisis due to a shortage of affordable units. The state ranked No. 41 in the nation for housing production last year according to the research site Construction Coverage. The state has also seen an influx of Haitian refugees fleeing a nation that has been torn apart by natural disasters, violence and political instability.

Neal McNamara contributed reporting.