The White House will send officials from the Department of Homeland Security to Massachusetts following Gov. Maura Healey's (D-MA) demand that the Biden administration see for itself how the border crisis has devastated the state.
A team from DHS will go to New England to "assess the current migrant situation and identify ways to improve efficiencies and maximum our support for communities that are addressing the needs of migrants," according to a statement the White House provided to CBS News.
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White House officials have been in "close" contact with the Healey administration and "will remain in coordination with the city and commonwealth to determine best practices and ways in which the federal government can support Boston and Massachusetts over the coming weeks and months, or until Congress takes action to fix our nation's broken immigration system," the same official said.
The White House did not answer a request for comment on the development, and the DHS refrained from confirming details about the visit.
“DHS is coordinating with the City of Boston and the State of Massachusetts to identify ways we can continue to maximize our support for communities that are addressing the needs of migrants while enforcing tough consequences against those without a legal basis to remain in the country," a DHS spokesperson wrote in an email Monday.
Healey and Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) called on President Joe Biden to help the state in mid-September. "Sanctuary" state Massachusetts became the latest in August to declare a state of emergency over its inability to handle thousands of illegal immigrants who have arrived after being released from federal custody at the U.S.-Mexico border.
"We need the Biden administration to compensate for the tremendous cost of sheltering the migrants," Auchincloss said last month.
Two motels in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, have been used to house immigrants, which hurts the town economy, particularly during leaf-peeping season when tourists visit to see the changing colors of trees. Sturbridge Town Administrator Robin Grimm said the impact on lost revenue and taxes is incalculable at this point.
"We are not a town equipped to handle this," Grimm said. "The community does try to help, but as a town, we do not have anything in our budget to actually assist. This really has to be done by the Commonwealth."
The Biden administration touted $2.8 million in aid that the government has provided to Boston since October 2022.
Healey spoke out in August and said the problem was not one for local or state governments to carry but for the federal government.
Healey said the state could not financially or logistically respond to the 20,000 people living in state-funded shelters, hotels, dormitories, and other emergency facilities statewide — an 80% increase from a year ago. The state's 1983 "right to shelter" law maintains that any family, regardless of immigration status, is guaranteed immediate state-provided housing.
"We're unable to move people from housing and shelter into permanent housing because of this, so instead, we've been expanding and continuing to look for housing and shelter opportunities, expanding shelter at a rapid pace, and it's unsustainable," Healey said.
Massachusetts's 7 million residents join other localities, including New York City, Chicago, and Washington, that have grappled to respond to the number of immigrants released into their communities from the border under Biden. All are sanctuary zones that have refused to cooperate with the federal government's immigration policies.
In 2017, the state's top court ruled that court officers do not have the authority to arrest or hold an illegal immigrant solely because he or she was named in a federal immigration request, effectively making the state a "sanctuary" zone.
Since then, Massachusetts has rolled out initiatives to help immigrants who are awaiting asylum and deportation proceedings years down the road live normal lives while in the country. Just last month, the state began allowing any noncitizen residing in the state to obtain a noncommercial driver's license.
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Illegal immigrants are also eligible for state assistance programs that cover the cost of food, as well as receive select healthcare coverage through the state's MassHealth Limited plan and financial assistance to pay rent through the Residential Assistance for Families in Transition, Emergency Rental and Mortgage Assistance Program, and Emergency Rental Assistance Program, according to the state's website.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), a 2024 GOP presidential candidate, mentioned the state's sanctuary status when he flew a group of illegal immigrants from Texas to Martha's Vineyard. Residents on the island erupted at the move, which DeSantis argued was hypocritical given the state's willingness to help immigrants even though they entered the country unlawfully.