Massachusetts governor Maura Healey is hardening her approach to the state’s migrant crisis in the face of mounting safety concerns and just days before President-elect Trump is sworn into office. (Adam Glanzman/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The governor is also looking to strengthen background checks for anyone staying at a shelter by requiring them to disclose criminal convictions in the state and elsewhere.
Her proposal would require applicants to verify their identity, residency and immigration status before being housed. Currently, shelter applicants are allowed to be housed before providing any documentation.
It would also limit those qualifying due to evictions to the state, not anywhere in the country. For instance, this would eliminate a scenario where a migrant is evicted in another state and then comes to Massachusetts and gets shelter benefits.
"I believe these changes are appropriate and needed to ensure the long-term sustainability of the state shelter system in a way that aligns with the original intent of the law," Healey said in a statement. "In addition, these proposed changes will allow us to continue to ensure the safety of our system, support cities and towns in addressing the needs of unhoused families in their communities and put us on the path toward a more fiscally sustainable shelter system."
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey visiting the Melnea A. Cass Recreational Complex, which was being used to house more than 300 migrants. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
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She recently announced that the administration will phase out the use of hotels and motels as shelters by the end of 2025.
Massachusetts adopted its Right to Shelter law 40 years ago, which was designed to provide housing for families in need, specifically pregnant women and children experiencing homelessness.
In recent years, migrants have sought shelter under this law which has overwhelmed its shelter system. Last year, Healey declared a state of emergency in the state due to the surge and called for federal action. She also acknowledged that the state’s policies may be a draw for migrants.
Migrants were even sleeping on the floors of Boston's Logan International Airport as the shelter system became overcrowded.
About 50,000 migrants have come to the state since 2021, according to. July report by the Center for Immigration Studies.
Democratic House Speaker Ronald Mariano said the new proposal is in line with what lawmakers have been trying to do.
"From the outset of the shelter system crisis, the House has consistently led the effort to ensure that the Commonwealth’s emergency assistance program could remain financially viable in the long-term, resulting in reforms that capped the maximum length of stay, and that required job training for individuals in the shelter system," he said in a statement, per the Associated Press.
A security worker walks the perimeter of the main living area at a state emergency overflow shelter for migrants at the Melnea A. Cass Recreational Complex. (Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr also welcomed the proposal.
"With the growing consensus not only on Beacon Hill, but throughout the Commonwealth, that major changes are needed urgently, we have the opportunity to at last take actions that will make the system safer, more accountable and transparent, and more sustainable," Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr said in a statement.
Massachusetts' Republican Party in August accused Healey of quietly having spent over $1 billion on the state’s migrant crisis.
"The Healey-Driscoll Administration has shrouded nearly $1 billion spent in secrecy, leaving Massachusetts residents in the dark," Massachusetts Republican Party Chair Amy Carnevale said in a statement at the time.
"They have withheld critical information on 600 incidents involving police, fire, and EMTs. Blocking journalists at every turn, the administration has obstructed the flow of information to the public."
Michael Dorgan is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.
You can send tips to michael.dorgan@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @M_Dorgan.
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