The state of Massachusetts is recommending that residents accept migrants into their homes. The state is seeking participants to allow the migrants into a room or apartment for a short period in anticipation of longer-term accommodations.
The effort to house the increasing number of migrants comes as the state struggles with the current wave.
The state is currently paying for about 40 hotels and motels to house the migrants.
State Rep. Peter Durant (R) accused Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D) of having a “woefully incomplete” approach to the current situation.
“This is about what we’re spending in taxpayers’ dollars to house, feed, secure those who are in the country illegally,” Durant said.
The state did not announce the exact dollar amount of how much it was spending on such housing programs.
However, the Boston Herald reported that the cost of housing people in one Holiday Inn would cost almost $11 million in the 2024 fiscal year. This includes the cost of food and shelter.
The governor’s office said that the “uptick in newly-arrived families coupled with challenging housing market conditions in the commonwealth, among other factors, have resulted in a sizable increase in families seeking shelter.”
Massachusetts Rep. Peter Durant's criticism of Gov. Healey's handling of housing migrants in hotels throughout the state headlines today's paper: https://t.co/FgAMOStJAY
View the E-Edition here: https://t.co/d7mt5mtBWF pic.twitter.com/HxV7zNcJNx
— Boston Herald (@bostonherald) July 12, 2023
The ongoing concern regarding migration is not only affecting Massachusetts. The Biden administration ended the Title 42 asylum policy implemented by former President Donald Trump earlier this year.
The change has had a significant impact on border security, with thousands of migrants collecting at the border in anticipation of the end of the policy.
Furthermore, thousands of migrants have crossed into the United States, with many arriving in declared sanctuary cities and states. A number of Republican-governed states such as Texas and Florida sent migrants to major cities such as New York and Chicago.
New York in particular has struggled to handle the influx. The city has faced protests over plans to convert a former school and hotels into accommodations for the migrants. Furthermore, New York City has also started sending migrants to other counties within the state.
