(ConservativeSense.com) – Massachusetts is currently dishing out roughly $75 million every month to house and feed immigrants arriving there and is on the brink of running out of cash.
Although Gov. Maura Healey and her administration have not disclosed when, exactly, funding for shelters will be depleted, the Boston Herald reports that it will most likely run out sometime in April. An Executive Office for Administration & Finance spokesperson said that no “further updates” are available yet but that the Legislature has made encouraging progress and that the office looks forward “to working with them” to solidify a budget “as soon as possible.”
Over the last few months, Massachusetts has experienced an increased surge of immigrants arriving in the state, putting a strain on the shelter system and social services. Around 7,500 immigrant families currently occupy Massachusetts emergency assistance shelters, with an additional 240 families houses in overflow sites. On top of those numbers, there are also thousands more single immigrants staying in shelters alongside homeless Americans.
State lawmakers are negotiating a supplemental spending bill that will inject hundreds of millions toward response efforts dealing with the fallout of the southern border crisis. Aaron Michlewitz, the Democratic Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, told the Boston Herald that he is “hopeful” that a plan will be agreed upon in time before existing funding runs out.
According to an announcement by Healey on Monday, March 25, the state also plans to change shelter rules by requiring any immigrant who is staying in these facilities to begin providing proof that they are making efforts to find employment and housing opportunities.
The governor warned last year, a few months after declaring a state of emergency in Massachusetts, that shelter for “migrant families” cannot be guaranteed as they have reached capacity. Healey said that Massachusetts is “entering a new phase” of the challenge and “can no longer guarantee shelter placement.”
Since the emergency declaration in August 2023, Healey has also continued to urge President Joe Biden and his administration to provide additional federal assistance to Massachusetts, a demand the Biden administration is facing from many other states and cities across the country as the crisis continues to swell.
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