Democratic Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey declared a state of emergency Tuesday over a surge in migrants in the state.
Healey also sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas asking for “urgent” help with the issue. The state is spending $45 million per month and is being forced to care for roughly 5,500 migrants, including young children and “pregnant people,” the governor’s letter stated. (RELATED: Massachusetts Activates 125 National Guardsmen To Support 50 Illegal Migrants In Martha’s Vineyard)
“This state of emergency arises from numerous factors, among them federal policies on immigration and work authorization, inadequate production of affordable housing over the last decade, and the end of COVID-era food and housing security programs. The need for action is urgent,” Healey wrote to Mayorkas.
Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is now running for president, sent roughly 50 migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, in September. The island scrambled to deploy resources, eventually moving the migrants to Joint Base Cape Cod.
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – MAY 13: A U.S. Border Patrol agent (2nd R) speaks to immigrants before they are transported from a makeshift camp amongst border walls, between the U.S. and Mexico, on May 13, 2023 as seen from San Diego, California. Some of the immigrants at the open-air camp have been waiting for days in limbo for a chance to plead for asylum while local volunteer groups are providing food and other necessities. The U.S. government’s Covid-era Title 42 policy, which for the past three years had allowed for the quick expulsion of irregular migrants entering the country, expired on the evening of May 11. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
“To our partners in the federal government, Massachusetts has stepped up to address sadly what has been a federal crisis of inaction that is many years in the making,” Healey wrote to Mayorkas. “But we can no longer do this alone.”
Massachusetts is experiencing a surge in illegal migration as New York City grapples with its own lack of space as it cares for more than 57,000 migrants.
Meanwhile, federal authorities at the southern border are seeing illegal migration increase again after dipping in June. Border Patrol agents made roughly 130,000 apprehensions of illegal migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border in July after making roughly 99,000 in June.
DHS didn’t immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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