Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healy (D) announced this week that the state would use its National Guard soldiers to help manage the resettlement of migrants. Massachusetts has seen a significant increase in migrants since the start of the Biden administration, pushing the limits of the state’s capacity.
Massachusetts will utilize up to 250 soldiers in the effort at a number of shelters and hotels. The governor announced a state of emergency last month over the influx of migrants.
She said that the state was suffering from “a confusing tangle of immigration laws, an inability for migrants to obtain work authorization from the federal government, an increase in the number of people coming to Massachusetts, and the lack of an affordable housing supply in our state.”
Healy’s administration had previously requested that private citizens help take in the migrants as the state’s shelters filled.
The nation has seen a significant influx of migrants since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021. Furthermore, Biden’s decision to scrap the Title 42 asylum policy of former President Donald Trump led to a significant surge of illegal immigrants attempting to cross the border.
August saw the highest number of migrant families attempting to cross the border on record.
A number of House Republicans are requesting information about efforts by a human smuggling network to bring migrants from Central Asia into the United States.
Rep. John Rose (R-TN) wrote to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas regarding the “deeply distressing news” regarding the crossings “with assistance from a human smuggler with connections to ISIS.” The representative added that the migrants were “released by the Biden administration into the American homeland.”
The letter was signed by seven other Republican House members.
Furthermore, Massachusetts is not alone among Democratic Party-led states in struggling to keep up with the migrant wave. New York City estimates that it received about 100,000 migrants since last year, with city officials describing the capacity to house and care for the immigrants as strained.
