Massachusetts migrant crisis intensifies as migrant families shelter in airport terminal

“A lot of well care stuff because while they’re at the airport, they don’t have access to a shower. So, there’s like some shower wipes, little towels just to clean up while they wait,” Medford resident Keturah Douze observed, according to CBS Boston.

It has been reported that Massachusetts State Police officers are being paid overtime for their overnight shifts at the airport. In November, Ed Freni, the Interim CEO of Massport, made a statement declaring that the shelter being provided for the migrants was inadequate.

“We have to emphasize that Logan is not an appropriate place to house people,” Freni told CBS Boston at the time.

On Monday, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey called on legislators to tackle the root causes of the continuing surge in migrant arrivals.

“We need D.C. to act. We need Congress to act,” Gov. Healey stated. “The path is there in terms of what needs to be done to fix the border situation, to fix some of the asylum processes and to get much-needed funding to some of the interior states who have had to shoulder the burden for a problem that is geopolitical and is not the state’s making.”

Governor Healey requested $250 million from President Biden to address the immigration challenges in Massachusetts, despite projecting that the influx might cost the state approximately $915 million in the coming year. Additionally, Democrat State Senator Karen Spilka from Ashland is reportedly anticipating the reaction of Congress to President Biden’s proposed budget.

“I am declaring a state of emergency in Massachusetts and urging my partners in the federal government to take the action we need to address this crisis by streamlining the work authorization process and passing comprehensive immigration reform,” Healey said at the time. “Many of the new arrivals to our state desperately want to work, and we have historic workforce demands across all industries.”

Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll stated that the state’s emergency assistance program is not adequately prepared to manage the influx of migrants.

“Our Emergency Assistance system is designed to be a temporary, emergency safety-net program. It is not equipped to handle the demand that we have seen in recent months,” Driscoll stated. “While we have made herculean efforts to expand capacity as much as possible, we’ve reached a point where the expansion is unsustainable.”