The Right to Shelter Law?

Even former Gov. Mike Dukakis, who signed it into law 40 years ago might have some second thoughts about it.

Or at least have some thoughts about the way it has been interpreted, misinterpreted or ignored by fellow progressive Democrat Gov. Maura Healey.

After all, when the law was passed in 1983 it was designed to help homeless residents of Massachusetts, and not people from around the world crashing into Massachusetts looking for a soft landing. And getting one, too.

But perhaps not. Dukakis, now 90-years old—who attended Healey’s state of the Commonwealth speech Wednesday evening— was issuing mandatory progressive directives long before the term came into common use.

Not for nothing was he called “Mandatory Mike” off and on during his three terms as governor.

The Shelter Law issue was raised in the Republican Party’s response to Healey’s speech in which she remained unwavering in her support of illegal immigrants who have poured into Massachusetts to partake of the state’s generous welfare benefits.

Yet the demand for emergency shelter services has overwhelmed the welfare system in in the state and will cost $1 billion annually coupled with a cut in services to taxpayers.

At this clip it, will not be long before the state will be forced to raise taxes to pay for it all, despite denials.

That’s because of open borders, which mean the immigrants keep coming. Some call them illegal immigrants. Healey calls them “new arrivals.”

Healey, who barely mentioned immigration in her speech, nevertheless called it “a hard issue. And one without easy answer,” although one answer would be for President Joe Biden to shut the border down.

But Healey, like other progressive Democrats who support Biden for re-election, blames Congress for the immigration mess, not Joe Biden.

“While Massachusetts did not create this problem, we’re going to continue to demand Congress take action to fix the border, to get us funding,” she said.

State Sen. Peter Durant of Spencer, who was chosen to give the GOP response, recently won a special election over a Democrat largely because he attacked the Right to Shelter Law, calling for a tight revision or repeal.

In his reply Durant said, “Tens of thousands of migrants are being housed in hotels and office buildings across the Commonwealth, and we see more every day.” He called for a six-month residency requirement before any benefits are issued.

“Immediately upon arrival a vast array of services open up” for the immigrant families from around the world, he said. These benefits include free housing, transportation, phones, security, schooling, medical care, financial aid, EBT cards, SNAP benefits and so on.

Unless the law is changed “our state will continue to be a magnet for an influx of migrants, with far reaching consequences that will impact you and future generations,” he said.

There was no immigration crisis 40 years ago. And homelessness was hardly the problem it is today, although there were homeless families that needed help.

But the Shelter Law was passed and signed into law to deal with family homelessness of Massachusetts residents, not residents of other countries.

Some of those residents were released from mental health facilities that had been shut down. Others had hit upon hard times and needed help.

The law, Chapter 450 of the ACTS of 1983, clearly provides assistance for Massachusetts families facing the loss of housing through eviction, or families faced with unpaid rent, utility shutoffs and unpaid home heating bills. The law also provides money for moving expenses and for the storage of furniture, all of which points to the fact that the recipients were residents of the state and not from another country.

The kicker in the law reads “that any such person who enters the Commonwealth solely for the purposes of obtaining benefits under this chapter shall not be considered a resident.”

Healey, like Biden at the border, is not going to enforce the law, or in Healey’s case, the resident requirement. That would mean withholding assistance, turning illegal immigrant families away, or (God forbid), sending them back to where they came from.

Progressives do not enforce laws they do not like.

Welcome to Massachusetts.

Peter Lucas is a veteran Massachusetts political reporter and columnist.

Migrants walk along the highway through Arriaga, Chiapas state in southern Mexico, earlier this month during their journey north toward the U.S. border. (AP Photo/Edgar H. Clemente)