MASSACHUSETTS IS ALREADY struggling to keep pace with emergency housing needs for migrants, many fleeing unsafe political conditions in other countries. A new report from the state’s climate chief warns that the Commonwealth also needs to prepare to receive climate migrants and refugees from inside and outside of the US as global weather conditions become […]
Immigration
Posted inHousing, Immigration
Don’t count on feds for shelter funding, Healey told
GOV. MAURA HEALEY’S call for a cap on the state’s emergency shelter program received tepid support on Monday from the Senate president and House speaker, who said the federal solution the governor is hoping for to address the influx of migrants is unlikely to materialize any time soon because of the leadership void in the […]
Posted inPolitics
What’s the political impact of emergency shelter crisis?
THE RACE FOR a vacant central Massachusetts Senate seat between a Republican and a Democratic state representative could be an early indicator of whether the emergency shelter crisis in Massachusetts will reverberate politically. The issue certainly has potential. Massachusetts has an emergency shelter law that requires the state to provide shelter to homeless families with […]
Posted inImmigration, State Government
Healey tries to have it both ways on emergency shelter law
GOV. MAURA HEALEY tried to have it both ways on the state’s right to shelter law Monday, insisting her administration is not backing away from requirements of the law while acknowledging that shelter capacity will max out by the end of this month and after that placements in the program will not be guaranteed. The […]
Posted inImmigration, State House News Service
Lt. Gov. says state running out of shelter room
MASSACHUSETTS IS GOING to run out of places to shelter newly arriving immigrants and other families without housing “very, very soon,” leaving the one state in the country that has a legal obligation to shelter unhoused families in a position where “there is not going to be literally any room at the inn,” Lt. Gov. […]
Posted inPolitics
Durant wins primary — to face Zlotnik for open Senate seat
REP. PETER DURANT of Spencer emerged victorious from Tuesday’s special election Republican primary and will face off in November against his House colleague, Rep. Jonathan Zlotnik of Gardner, in the race for a vacant central Massachusetts Senate seat that appears to be up for grabs. Durant cruised by his opponent in the Republican primary, Bruce […]
Posted inEconomy
Foreign-educated immigrants can strengthen the Mass. economy
IN THE 2023 CNBC Top States for Business rankings, Massachusetts was rated among the best states for technology and innovation, education, access to capital, and life, health, and inclusion. Similarly, in the summer of 2023, Massachusetts was rated by WalletHub as the best state to live in the country, driven by its top ranking for […]
Posted inImmigration
Big 3 confer with congressional delegation on migrants
THE BIG 3 on Beacon Hill met via Zoom on Thursday morning with the state’s representatives in Congress, enlisting their help in seeking federal dollars and regulatory changes to help ease the shelter crisis in Massachusetts. Sounding more and more like officials from border states who complain about bearing the burden of immigration, the Massachusetts […]
Posted inEconomy
Arriving Haitians want to work — let’s cut the red tape that’s stopping them
BEFORE HE FLED to Boston from the chaos and violence engulfing Haiti, Johnny L. was a physician. While waiting for his US work permit and learning English at Jewish Vocational Service (JVS) Boston, Johnny’s been eager to get to work, at any job he can find—and fortunately, he recently landed a $26-an-hour full-time housekeeping job […]
Posted inImmigration
Putting a face on the state’s shelter crisis
DONNA VELASQUEZ was miserable in Venezuela. She lived with more than a dozen relatives in a small, packed house in La Vela de Coro, a port city in northwestern Venezuela, one of the poorest parts of the country. A 26-year-old single mother raising a small child, she remembers constantly feeling hungry and distressed. Every morning […]