GOV. MAURA HEALEY disclosed early Tuesday morning that she sent aides to the country’s southern border to put out the word that Massachusetts emergency shelters are full.
“This trip is an important opportunity to meet with families arriving in the US and the organizations that work with them at the border to make sure they have accurate information about the lack of shelter space in Massachusetts,” said Emergency Assistance Director General Scott Rice, who is leading the five-member team. “It is essential that we get the word out that our shelters are full so that families can plan accordingly to make sure they have a safe place to go.”
The move by Healey also appears to be an acknowledgment that the state’s unique right-to-shelter law may be attracting migrants to Massachusetts, as some Republican lawmakers opposed to the law have suggested.
The law remains in place, but Healey and lawmakers have changed aspects of it as more and more migrants have come to the state. Healey initially unilaterally placed a cap on the size of the emergency shelter system and more recently the Legislature limited stays in the system to nine months.
Dispatching aides to the southern border appears to be an attempt to discourage migrants from coming to Massachusetts by informing them that there is no space for them.
According to a press release on the trip, the team is putting out the word at the most common points of entry for families that end up in Massachusetts. The team is visiting the San Antonio Airport, Healethe Centro de Bienvenida/San Antonio Migrant Resource Center and Shelter, the Ursula Processing Facility in McAllen, the Hidalgo Port of Entry, and the Brownsville Migrant Welcome Center.
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