Handling the migrant influx in Massachusetts and many states around the country has had all the organizational finesse of a prison riot.

States and cities were blindsided by migrant arrivals and scrambled to find or create shelter space. Money ran out, was replenished, and ran out again. New arrivals needed to be fed, their children enrolled in schools, and processed for work authorizations.

It’s been an endless cycle of lurching from crisis to crisis.

Is it any wonder that things fell between the cracks?

A group of Massachusetts senators are calling out migrant families who entered the country on the condition their expenses be covered by a sponsor, yet who are supported by taxpayers.

As the Herald reported, 11 state senators, led by Democrat Michael Moore and Republican Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, sent a letter to Gov. Maura Healey and Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Edward Augustus, calling for accountability for those who have made commitments to provide financial support for migrants under the federal Humanitarian Parole Program, “but have not fulfilled that commitment.”

The Massachusetts emergency shelter system has been full to bursting with migrant families, and the senators assert that some of them may have a financial sponsor, and the state, and by extension taxpayers, should not be footing the bill for their stay in the U.S.

That makes perfect sense, as does the idea that this has gone unnoticed until now. There’s been so much focus on the enormous amount of money the Healey Administration is spending on migrants (about $1B in FY ’24), the parade of new sites “selected” to house migrants and subsequent pushback from communities, that the thought of “where are those sponsors?” was backburnered.

What are the chances this is only happening in Massachusetts? Some sanctuary sites, like New York City, have had to cope with high-profile migrant crimes, including assaults on police officers. Reports from Border Patrol agents that individuals on terrorist watch lists were caught, and some released, have also made headlines.

Verifying sponsorship hasn’t been top of mind.

The senators’ letter calls for the Healey administration to gather statistical information on any such cases, and to seek reimbursement for the public dollars that have been spent to support those individuals, expenses that “should have been covered by their financial sponsor.”

This should be a model for other states who are hosting migrants, particularly those who’ve shouldered outsized logistical and financial burdens.

“We appreciate the pressure you have placed on the federal government, and we continue to hope that Congress will act,” the June 25 letter states. “However, we ask that you also seek to hold to account those who have legally committed themselves to provide financial support for these migrants.”

Hopes that Congress will act are likely to be dashed, the partisan rancor weighs Capitol Hill progress down like a stone. But holding sponsors accountable for keeping their pledge to assist migrants in Mass. and around the country is a proactive step to getting at least some semblance of control over the crisis.

Kudos, senators, now let’s hope Healey is listening.

Editorial cartoon by Steve Kelley (Creators Syndicate)