According to reports, there are nearly 5,600 families- or more than 20,000 people- many of whom are migrants, currently living in Massachusetts shelters, including infants, young children and pregnant women.
That is up from around 3,100 families a year ago, about an 80% increase, and Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey declared a state of emergency on Tuesday, August 8, 2023, citing an influx of migrants seeking shelter at a time when the cost of housing- already in short supply- continues to rise.
Luckily, there is no border crisis, or flood of illegal immigrants, according to the administration, but as part of the emergency declaration, Healey said she is renewing a call to local organizations that can assist those seeking shelter as well as to people interested in sponsoring a family in their home.
She called on the federal government for financial help, and more urgently, expedited work authorizations to allow the new arrivals to more quickly find jobs and start earning a living, she wrote in a letter to U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.
More than 80 cities and towns across the state have already felt the impact of new migrants and support the emergency declaration, and other states have faced challenges with soaring numbers of migrants.
