Top lawmakers crafting the compromise supplemental budget bill landed on pulling an additional $251 million for fiscal 2024 from the so-called Transitional Escrow Account, a one-time revenue source that boasts a balance of $863 million.
Immigration
Posted inOpinion
UMass comings and goings reflect impact of immigrants
UMass leaders are living proof of the incredible impact immigrants make on some of our most important institutions.
Posted inOpinion
Unitarians turn empty office space into shelter
With all the public and private resources invested in office space and commercial development in the past generation, yet high vacancy rates forecasted for the foreseeable future, surely there can be more creative uses for spaces like ours to meet this moment.
Posted inBy The Numbers
Mass. residents say ‘immigration/migrants’ top issue facing state
Sixty-seven percent of those polled said the migrant situation was either a crisis (28 percent) or a major problem (39 percent).
Posted inImmigration
Mariano patience running thin on emergency shelter funding
Mariano and his budget chief, Rep. Aaron Michlewitz of Boston, acknowledged the House’s proposed funding for the coming fiscal year is probably about half what is needed, but they indicated they wanted to force a reevaluation of the situation after roughly six months.
Posted inImmigration
Healey makes another tweak to the emergency shelter law
Gov. Maura Healey made a new change in the program, imposing one-month restrictions on families staying in overflow housing shelters while they wait for shelter spots to open up.
Posted inImmigration
Senate bill also backs cap on stays in emergency shelter system
Like the bill that cleared the House earlier this month, the Senate bill could push some people out of the system after nine months, which would mark a shift in a state that by law guarantees access to shelter for eligible families and pregnant women.
Posted inImmigration
Report sees shifts in immigrant demographics
According to a new report, their countries of origin have shifted, many more end up residing outside the city, and well over half are landing in good-paying jobs.
Posted inImmigration
Healey’s ‘Washington solution’ to migrant crisis derails
Sen. Ed Markey issued a statement saying he would continue to push for more funding to help Healey support migrants coming to the state, but he said he could not vote for the overly restrictive immigration policies contained in the bill.
Posted inHousing
Migrant families moving from Logan to Roxbury rec center
Protesters greeted Gov. Maura Healey and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu as they toured a Roxbury community center that is being converted into temporary housing to make room for more homeless families who are eligible for shelter services.
Posted inImmigration
Healey seeks $893m for shelter system
“The situation is evolving and we continue to evolve with it,” said Mathew Gorzkowicz, the governor’s top budget official.
Posted inImmigration
Healey on board with reforms at southern border
AS SENATE NEGOTIATORS in Washington edge closer to a deal on immigration, Gov. Maura Healey is signaling a willingness to support steps that restrict access to migrants at the border. […]
Posted inImmigration
Work authorizations for migrants in shelter system soar
Between December 18 and December 28, the number of migrants in the emergency shelter system who are authorized to work under federal law rose from 813 to 2,713, according to a status report provided to the Legislture.
Posted inOpinion
A better way to deal with the state’s shelter crisis
Using state, federal, and philanthropic resources, refugee resettlement providers helped Afghan evacuees find apartments, learn English, enter the workforce, meet their neighbors, and integrate into communities across the state.
Posted inState Government
Dems return to Beacon Hill in force, pass stalled spending bill
All the parliamentary maneuvering over the close-out spending bill didn’t change anything, but it captivated Beacon Hill for nearly a week in the middle of a holiday recess.
Posted inImmigration
Transportation building tapped as temporary emergency shelter
More than a week after the Healey administration began placing shelter-seeking families on a waitlist, officials announced Monday that they will use part of the MBTA’s headquarters to temporarily house eligible families for whom no space is available.
Posted inImmigration, State Government
House, Senate at odds on shelter spending, Everett soccer stadium
The main points of contention between the House and Senate are how the $250 million needed to keep the state’s emergency shelter system afloat should be spent and whether the Legislature should do a favor for Robert Kraft.
Posted inHousing
Healey’s shelter cap of 7,500 families is triggered
The number of families housed in the state’s emergency shelter system hit Gov. Maura Healey’s limit on Thursday afternoon, triggering a new regulation that will allow the shelter system to begin to turn people away.
Posted inImmigration
House bill takes hands-on approach in providing $250m for shelters
House leaders on Tuesday indicated they plan to give Gov. Maura Healey the $250 million she asked for in September to support the state’s cash-strapped emergency shelter program, but the money would come with specific directives on how all of it should be spent.
Posted inBy The Numbers
Mass. residents say they support right-to-shelter law, sort of
Massachusetts residents are strongly in favor of the state’s unique right-to-shelter law, but there is significantly less support for the law being used to provide emergency housing for migrants, according to a new CommonWealth Beacon poll.
Posted inState Government
Mariano urges Healey to issue executive order on shelter crisis
House Speaker Ron Mariano offered some interesting advice to Gov. Maura Healey as she struggles to navigate the state’s emergency shelter crisis, urging her to declare an executive order tweaking the law as she sees fit.
Posted inImmigration
Group seeks to block Healey’s emergency shelter cap
Gov. Maura Healey’s administration is facing a lawsuit after the governor announced last week that the state would no longer guarantee housing for those protected under the state’s right-to-shelter law.
Posted inEnvironment, Immigration, State Government
Climate migration to Massachusetts ‘an urgent concern’
MASSACHUSETTS IS ALREADY struggling to keep pace with emergency housing needs for migrants, many fleeing unsafe political conditions in other countries. A new report from the state’s climate chief warns […]
Posted inHousing, Immigration
Don’t count on feds for shelter funding, Healey told
GOV. MAURA HEALEY’S call for a cap on the state’s emergency shelter program received tepid support on Monday from the Senate president and House speaker, who said the federal solution […]
