Healey says Massachusetts cannot guarantee shelter for migrants, homeless after end of month

Massachushetts Gov. Maura Healey (D) warned Tuesday that the state will run out of shelter for migrants and homeless families at the end of this month, as migrant waves continue to stress the the social safety nets of cities and states across the country.

Massachusetts is legally required to provide housing to qualifying migrant and homeless families, but Healey said the state will run out of room soon.

“We are not ending the right-to-shelter law,” Healey said in a press conference Monday. “We are being very clear, though, that we are not going to be able to guarantee placement for folks who are sent here after the end of this month.”

She also called on the Biden administration to increase aid and speed up the work visa process for specific migrant groups, which would enable them to earn an income and leave state housing.

“This again affirms my call to the Biden administration,” she said. “I think they know and understand clearly what it is that we are seeking and those discussions are continuing. I’m hopeful that they will result in action soon for our state. But in the meantime we can’t wait.”

Around 7,000 families are in the state’s emergency shelter system, about half of which are migrants. Healey declared a state of emergency over the shelter issue in August, blaming a “confusing tangle of immigration laws” for exacerbating the state’s problems.  

She activated about 250 members of the state National Guard at the end of August to support shelters and hotels as the state struggled to house those in need.

“This state of emergency arises from numerous factors, among them federal policies on immigration and work authorization, inadequate production of affordable housing over the last decade, and the end of COVID-era food and housing security programs,” she wrote in August. “These new arrivals desperately want to work, and we have historic demand for workers across all industries.”

Officials from California to Illinois to New York have also warned of over-stressed public support systems, as border states send busloads of migrants north.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) and New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) have called on the Biden administration for help with migrants. 

Hochul backed efforts by New York City to get rid of the city’s own right-to-shelter law last week, saying it was never intended to handle so many people.

“I don’t know how the right to shelter — dedicated to help those people, which I believe in, help families — can or should be interpreted to be an open invitation to 8 billion people who live on this planet, that if you show up in the streets of New York, that the city of New York has an obligation to provide you with a hotel room or shelter,” Hochul said.

Hochul and Adams have repeatedly clashed with the White House over immigration. Earlier this month, Adams said President Biden is “wrong” on immigration and that poor federal management is costing New Yorkers.

“First of all, right now it’s coming out of the pockets of New York City taxpayers, we need to understand that. We received a little over $100 million from the federal government, the rest is coming from New York City taxpayers,” he said.

“And that means giving money to struggling low-income New Yorkers. All those programs we put in place to finally allow New Yorkers to move out of systemic poverty are now being challenged.”