Editorial: Gov. Healey needs a migrant exit strategy
Gov. Maura Healey’s already had her Eric Adams moment, hitting the same wall as the New York City mayor when he put the blame for the migrant influx on the Biden Administration and called for fed funding to deal with the surge straining shelters and resources.
As the Bay State’s homeless shelter capacity tapped out at 7,500 Thursday one has to wonder: when will Healey have her Greg Abbott moment of reckoning?
The Texas governor was much maligned for busing tens of thousands of migrants north who crossed into his state and pushed the shelter system to the point of breaking. His moves were decried as a political stunt, but as many Blue State leaders have realized, space and resources are not limitless.
Healey made sure shelters were on board with housing the homeless and new arrivals. Hotel rooms were booked, college dormitories conscripted. Residents were asked to become host families. She warned that demand would soon outstrip supply, hopes to the contrary.
Yet here we are, with emergency shelters maxed out at 7,500 and adults and children with few options as they bide their time on a state-run waiting list for temporary housing, according to data.
As the Herald reported, overnight shelters are still in the works and any potential opening of an overflow site is still weeks away at best leaving immediate options for people seeking shelter limited. Interim solutions by community-based and faith communities may not be enough, said Kelly Turley, associate director for the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless.
“Our concern is that every family who otherwise would be put on this waiting list has severe health and safety risks if they are to be unsheltered,” Turley told the Herald. “We’re hearing that families likely will be in places like Logan Airport. Historically, families may have gone to the hospital emergency rooms, and they’re not necessarily prepared to become de facto shelters.”
Lt. Gen. Scott Rice, who heads up the administration’s shelter response, said the state does not have enough shelter units, service providers, or funding to continue to safely expand.
Which is why lawmakers have been discussing potential overflow sites. House Speaker Ronald Mariano said the Hynes Convention Center is one possibity.
One problem: The Hynes, like other convention centers, have events booked. There’s the Ebony Winter Gala in December, Massachusetts Municipal Association Annual Meeting and Trade Show in January, and the Mass. Bar Exam at the end of February. The Boston Convention and Exhibition Center has a packed schedule.
Would attendees of these events find themselves in a similar boat as those who planned to see the Navy football game at Gillette next month, only to find the hotel rooms they booked had been reassigned to migrant families?
You can only kick the can down the road for so long, and hints that “there are other places to go” fall flat. Healey faces a tough decision, and soon: Put Massachusetts first, or keep bailing out Biden’s sinking border crisis boat?