GOV. MAURA HEALEY formally asked the Biden administration to take a number of steps to make it easier for migrants and refugees to legally find work, saying the state of emergency that currently exists in Massachusetts and other states could represent an opportunity to fill record levels of job vacancies. In a letter dated Thursday […]
Immigration
Posted inOpinion
State’s investments in immigrants pay off
WHEN AIDA HABIBI and her family finally settled in the United States as refugees from Afghanistan last spring, they had concluded a difficult, six-year journey. Faced with threats from the Taliban and a lack of services for her brother, who has autism and Down syndrome, Aida, her mother, father, and three siblings fled Afghanistan […]
Posted inEducation
In-state tuition, financial aid in sight for undocumented students
AFTER TWO DECADES of advocacy on Beacon Hill, Massachusetts is set to join about two dozen other states in removing a high-profile barrier to undocumented students in higher education. The final $56.2 billion compromise budget for fiscal year 2024 includes a Senate provision that would allow all students, regardless of immigration status, to qualify for […]
Posted inOpinion
There’s a fatal flaw in fast-track immigration proceedings
TWO YEARS AGO, the Biden administration launched an initiative, known as the dedicated docket, to fast track the cases of certain asylum-seeking families, promising fairness and efficiency in the nation’s notoriously backlogged immigration courts. But as a report released this week reveals, the dedicated docket has sacrificed fairness for speed and quietly expedited injustice for […]
Posted inTransportation
Eng mum on cause of slow zones, timetable for elimination
MBTA GENERAL MANAGER Phillip Eng on Monday touted progress in addressing slow zones on the subway system, but he declined to explain how the problem surfaced or provide a timeline of when it will be fully addressed. In a generally upbeat presentation to an oversight hearing of the Legislature’s Transportation Committee, Eng reported “making progress, […]
Posted inState Government
April tax revenues plunge 23% below forecasted levels
THE GENERALLY nonstop tax revenue growth the state has experienced for the last several years came to a halt in April, when revenue came in more than $2 billion lower than a year ago and $1.4 billion less than what the state had forecasted for the month. The Healey administration said it should be able […]
Posted inEducation
Momentum building for removing another barrier for immigrants
THE LEGISLATURE last year approved a new law giving immigrants without legal status the ability to apply for state-issued driver’s licenses. The bill had been kicking around Beacon Hill for nearly two decades, and it finally passed with enough support to override a gubernatorial veto, driven by a coalition of supporters who pressed hard for […]
Posted inEducation
Undocumented students are the key to our future
FOR A STATE that that relies as much on immigration as Massachusetts does, we are falling farther behind the rest of the country when it comes to economically competitive policies and funding for our young, undocumented residents seeking a college education. That’s the finding of a recently released report from the Education Trust, “Higher Education […]
Posted inImmigration, State Government, State House News Service
House leaders wary of Baker prediction on immigrants
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE FORMER GOVERNOR Charlie Baker’s warnings that the state’s emergency assistance shelter system is overfilling with migrants and will not be able to guarantee spots for eligible families come March featured an “artificial deadline,” one top lawmaker said Monday. Top Baker administration deputies formally warned lawmakers in late December that within 90 […]
Posted inThe Download
Low birth rates, slow immigration harms state workforce
Almost every industry, from hospitals to restaurants, is struggling to hire in Massachusetts. And while some of this may be due to COVID-related factors that will eventually diminish, a new report by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation says one major reason for the challenge is not going away any time soon: demographics. The new report puts […]