Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D) declared a state of emergency over the increased flow of migrants into her state. This week’s announcement follows a number of other similar declarations in other locations dominated by the Democratic Party.
The governor said Tuesday that the state needed the emergency declaration “due to rapid and unabating increases in the number of families with children and pregnant people.”
She added that a large number of these families were “newly arriving migrants and refugees” who do not have “the means to secure safe shelter in our communities.”
Massachusetts estimates that there are more than 20,000 people in its state-run shelters. Healey also stated that the state struggled due to “federal policies on immigration and work authorization.”
The governor stated that Massachusetts had about 100 new families per day seeking emergency shelter. Massachusetts is currently spending $45 million per month on its shelter programs.
The state had previously requested that Massachusetts residents consider opening their homes to migrant families. The state has also opened college dorms and rented hotel rooms for the illegal aliens.
The governor said that with the current and anticipated influx of migrants, the situation was “unsustainable.”
The governor’s declaration would also allow for federal aid to assist in handling the current crisis and grants her increased ability to command the state’s National Guard.
“Many of these families are migrants to Massachusetts, drawn here because we are and proudly have been a beacon to those in need,” the governor wrote last month.
The governor asked Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to request changes to federal law. Included in the request was for Congress to “address our outdated and punitive immigration laws.”
Massachusetts’ legislature has not passed a formal declaration that it would be a sanctuary state.
MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR MAURA HEALEY ON SANCTUARY CITIES:
"If they want to take on a sanctuary city designation, I think that's great!"
Now, she's declaring a state of emergency over the influx of migrants into her state.
Life comes at you fast! pic.twitter.com/h6FeCuaVsO
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) August 8, 2023
However, the state’s Supreme Judicial Court ruled in 2017 that Massachusetts law “provides no authority for Massachusetts court officers to arrest and hold an individual solely on the basis of a Federal civil immigration detainer, beyond the time that the individual would otherwise be entitled to be released from State custody.”
Healey’s declaration followed a number of similar states of emergency declared in New York City, New York State and Chicago.
