‘We do not have room’: Sanctuary state to offer plane tickets for migrants to leave

A New England state that has long been regarded as a “sanctuary” for illegal immigrants is now dramatically scaling back its emergency migrant shelter services and offering plane rides for them to leave, according to a Tuesday announcement.

Democratic Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey announced that the state will limit stays at overflow shelters to just five days for migrants beginning next month and that it will offer to cover plane tickets and other travel expenses for migrants who wish to leave, according to Boston 25 News. The announcement comes as Massachusetts has been rocked with waves of illegal immigrants in need of housing and other services.

“I want to be clear, particularly to people outside of Massachusetts who may have gotten word that this is a place to come, that we do not have room here in Massachusetts,” Healey said during a press conference, according to Boston 25 News.

“Massachusetts is out of shelter space, and we simply cannot afford the current size of this system,” she said in a Tuesday press release. “That’s why we are making changes to [Emergency Assistance] prioritization and transitioning our safety-net sites to five-day temporary respite centers.”

The state will instead give priority shelter to Massachusetts families with a newborn baby, a veteran, or someone with a significant medical issue, Boston 25 News reported. The changes are due to become effective on August 1st.

The five-day stay limit marks a dramatic scaleback. The four state-run overflow shelters currently operating in Massachusetts — located in Lexington, Chelsea, Cambridge, and Norfolk — currently allow migrant families to remain for 30 days, and offer options to re-apply, according to the governor’s press release.

“This is a federal issue. We still need federal help. We need federal immigration reform,” Massachusetts Senate President Karen Spilka said of the migrant crisis, according to Boston 25 News.

Earlier this year, the state was spending roughly $75 million a month to house families in their shelters, according toGBH, a local outlet.

The announcement marks the latest effort by the Massachusetts governor to cut costs on migrant shelter services and encourage asylum seekers to go elsewhere.

Healey deployed several top state officials to border communities in June to warn illegal immigrants not to make Massachusetts their destination of choice because the state’s emergency system is overwhelmed.

The Center for Immigration Studies identifies Massachusetts as a “sanctuary” state, citing a 2017 court decision that limits law enforcement’s ability to hold criminal illegal aliens solely based on a detainer request from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Healey has also spoken in defense of sanctuary cities. In 2017, she issued a formal statement as state attorney general condemning then-President Donald Trump’s effort to withhold federal funding from sanctuary cities.

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