A group of migrants had to move to Boston’s Logan Airport because there were no more beds in the “refuge city” for them to sleep in.
The group of up to 20, including babies, were seen sleeping on benches under blankets on Friday.
They arrived in Boston as Massachusetts’ shelter cap was at its maximum and there was deadlock over how best to spend the $250 million on shelters.
Those migrants were placed on a waiting list after the state’s emergency shelter system reached a cap of 7,500 families last week.
Massachusetts has a right-to-shelter law that requires housing for the homeless, but Gov. Maura Healey warned that the state is running out of space.
Migrants were forced to move into Boston airport because there were no beds left for them to sleep in the “refuge city.”
On Friday, a group of up to 20 people, including small children, were seen sleeping under blankets on benches
Massachusetts has a right-to-shelter law that requires housing to be provided for homeless people, but Governor Maura Healey (pictured) warned that the state was running out of space
Migrant families have been seen seeking shelter at Boston Logan International Airport as the city continues to grapple with soaring demand for shelter.
People slept on benches with blankets over their heads and mothers held their children in the airport terminal.
The migrants are said to have arrived on a flight from San Antonio, Texas, and found their belongings strewn on the ground.
Gov. Healey, a Democrat, warned others thinking about moving to Massachusetts that there was no more room there.
“Right now, Massachusetts as far as destination, winter is coming, it’s getting cold, we just can’t promise you a bed,” she said Friday.
State police and airport personnel herded migrants out of the airport terminals.
Edward Freni, interim CEO of the Massachusetts Port Authority, said: “We must emphasize that Logan Airport is not an appropriate place to house people.”
“Some of the people come late in the evening, we try to help them when we see them, but usually we pick them up early in the morning and take them to support the centers.”
Elsewhere in Boston, migrants crowded into the Mattapan office of the Immigration Family Services Institute (IFSI) seeking help.
But there remains a long waiting list for those who need accommodation.
“We’re talking about Thanksgiving, when everyone will eat together as a family,” said Dr. Geralde Gabeau, Managing Director of the IFSI.
“So what motivates those sitting on the streets to be here after all the trauma, all the hardship they have endured?”
“And everyone enjoys their food. The fact that they are standing on the street in the cold is unacceptable to me.”
White House senior adviser Tom Perez said a work authorization clinic that began this week has already served more than 1,000 migrants.
Migrant families have been seen seeking shelter at Boston Logan International Airport as the city continues to grapple with soaring demand for shelter
In the airport terminal, people slept on the floor and on benches with blankets over their heads
They were placed on a waiting list after the state’s emergency shelter system reached a cap of 7,500 families last week
“We will continue these efforts in the coming weeks to help more eligible migrants submit their work permit applications,” he added.
“The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to supporting local jurisdictions receiving recently arrived migrants, and we will continue to work with our partners in Massachusetts in the coming weeks and months.”
The Massachusetts Legislature concluded its formal session for this year on Thursday without agreement on a $2.8 billion spending bill that includes hundreds of millions of dollars to feed the state’s emergency shelters, which are struggling under an influx of migrant and Homeless families collapse.
Both the House and Senate bills would provide $250 million for the shelter system, but a conference committee failed to resolve further differences early Thursday.
Lawmakers began the holiday season with uncertainty clouding the state’s emergency shelter response.
Some groups despised lawmakers for their inaction. The Massachusetts Teachers Association said in a statement it was “shocked and frankly outraged” by lawmakers’ inaction on the supplemental budget.
“This is another blight on a Legislature that is struggling to fulfill its obligation to serve the public good,” the union, which represents 117,000 members, said in a statement.
Across the region, advocates relied on a patchwork of emergency shelters, including churches, hospital waiting rooms and even airport lounges.
The increase in demand is driven in part by the entry of immigrant families into the state. According to Democratic Gov. Healey’s administration, about half of current asylum seekers are newcomers to Massachusetts.
The administration is working with groups to find temporary housing but is hesitant to release some details of its plan, including the location of a clinic it co-sponsored with the Department of Homeland Security that will help migrants obtain work permits.
MPs will not officially meet again to vote until the new year, but could resolve their differences in informal meetings. However, legal regulations make it easier to derail bills in informal meetings.