Healey says ‘state of emergency’ exists due to skyrocketing migrant arrivals, shelter demand

By Katie Lannan and Sarah Betancourt – GBH News

Gov. Maura Healey on Tuesday declared a state of emergency in connection with a sharp uptick in the number of migrant families arriving in Massachusetts and needing shelter. The governor coupled the order with what she called an “urgent and formal appeal” for the federal government to act on immigration policy.

Nearly 5,600 families with children — more than 20,000 people total — are living in state-funded shelters, hotels, dormitories and emergency facilities across the state, Healey said. That number is up from around 3,100 families a year ago, according to the governor’s office.

“It’s more families than our state has ever served, exponentially more than our state has ever served, in our emergency assistance program,” she said. “Those numbers are being driven by a surge in new arrivals who have been through some of the hardest journeys imaginable. They are the face of the national — international — migrant crisis. They’re here because where they came from is too dangerous to stay. They’re here because Massachusetts has and will always be a beacon of hope, compassion, humanity and opportunity.”

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Source – GBH News

Published August 08, 2023