THE RACE FOR a vacant central Massachusetts Senate seat between a Republican and a Democratic state representative could be an early indicator of whether the emergency shelter crisis in Massachusetts […]
Immigration
Posted inImmigration, State Government
Healey tries to have it both ways on emergency shelter law
GOV. MAURA HEALEY tried to have it both ways on the state’s right to shelter law Monday, insisting her administration is not backing away from requirements of the law while […]
Posted inImmigration, State House News Service
Lt. Gov. says state running out of shelter room
MASSACHUSETTS IS GOING to run out of places to shelter newly arriving immigrants and other families without housing “very, very soon,” leaving the one state in the country that has […]
Posted inPolitics
Durant wins primary — to face Zlotnik for open Senate seat
REP. PETER DURANT of Spencer emerged victorious from Tuesday’s special election Republican primary and will face off in November against his House colleague, Rep. Jonathan Zlotnik of Gardner, in the […]
Posted inEconomy
Foreign-educated immigrants can strengthen the Mass. economy
IN THE 2023 CNBC Top States for Business rankings, Massachusetts was rated among the best states for technology and innovation, education, access to capital, and life, health, and inclusion. Similarly, […]
Posted inImmigration
Big 3 confer with congressional delegation on migrants
THE BIG 3 on Beacon Hill met via Zoom on Thursday morning with the state’s representatives in Congress, enlisting their help in seeking federal dollars and regulatory changes to help […]
Posted inEconomy
Arriving Haitians want to work — let’s cut the red tape that’s stopping them
BEFORE HE FLED to Boston from the chaos and violence engulfing Haiti, Johnny L. was a physician. While waiting for his US work permit and learning English at Jewish Vocational […]
Posted inImmigration
Putting a face on the state’s shelter crisis
DONNA VELASQUEZ was miserable in Venezuela. She lived with more than a dozen relatives in a small, packed house in La Vela de Coro, a port city in northwestern Venezuela, […]
Posted inImmigration, State House News Service
Healey calls emergency shelter situation not sustainable
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE HOUSE SPEAKER Ron Mariano is “still searching for some answers” about the scope of the fast-changing emergency shelter crisis, while Gov. Maura Healey on Tuesday delivered […]
Posted inBy The Numbers, Immigration
Poll finds rising concern about immigration in Mass.
IMMIGRATION IS suddenly showing up on the radar screens of Massachusetts residents. The MassINC Polling Group often begins its polls with a broad-based question asking respondents what they think is […]
Posted inImmigration, Politics, State Government
Mass. welcome mat for migrants starting to fray
A YEAR AGO, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis used state tax funds to fly two planeloads of Venezuelan migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard. It was a political stunt designed to […]
Posted inImmigration, State Government
Healey pleads for federal help in addressing shelter crisis
GOV. MAURA HEALEY formally asked the Biden administration to take a number of steps to make it easier for migrants and refugees to legally find work, saying the state of […]
Posted inHousing, Immigration, State House News Service
Healey calls in National Guard to aid shelter effort
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE FACING A STEADY influx of migrants from other countries, Gov. Maura Healey on Thursday activated up to 250 National Guard members to provide basic services at […]
Posted inGovernment, Immigration, Politics
Right to shelter: Is it a migrant magnet?
FOR 40 YEARS, Massachusetts has had a right-to-shelter law, which requires the state to provide shelter to families with children as well as pregnant women. The law is attracting a […]
Posted inOpinion
State’s investments in immigrants pay off
WHEN AIDA HABIBI and her family finally settled in the United States as refugees from Afghanistan last spring, they had concluded a difficult, six-year journey. Faced with threats from […]
Posted inEconomy, Government, Immigration
Campbell, other AGs join call for feds to speed migrant work approvals
ONE WEEK AFTER Gov. Maura Healey declared a state of emergency regarding the migrant crisis, including a call for more expedited federal work authorizations, Attorney General Andrea Campbell and 18 […]
Posted inGovernment, Housing, Immigration
The migrant shelter crisis is also a housing crisis
THE MASSACHUSETTS state shelter system, now serving around 20,000 people across 5,600 families, is strained almost to capacity – a “humanitarian crisis” of migrant families drawing renewed attention to the […]
Posted inGovernment, Housing, Immigration
Healey declares state of emergency for ‘unsustainable’ migrant housing crisis
THE RATE OF MIGRANTS coming into Massachusetts, fleeing unsafe countries and looking for work and housing, is “unsustainable” without intervention from the federal government, Gov. Maura Healey said Tuesday. She […]
Posted inOpinion
There’s a fatal flaw in fast-track immigration proceedings
TWO YEARS AGO, the Biden administration launched an initiative, known as the dedicated docket, to fast track the cases of certain asylum-seeking families, promising fairness and efficiency in the nation’s […]
Posted inEducation
Momentum building for removing another barrier for immigrants
THE LEGISLATURE last year approved a new law giving immigrants without legal status the ability to apply for state-issued driver’s licenses. The bill had been kicking around Beacon Hill for […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Advocates blocked from having lawyers at police meeting about missing East Boston woman
A FURTHER EXAMPLE of the disparate treatment by law enforcement of cases involving victims of color and White people, or an innocent misunderstanding in the heat of the moment? Those […]
Posted inImmigration, State Government, State House News Service
House leaders wary of Baker prediction on immigrants
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE FORMER GOVERNOR Charlie Baker’s warnings that the state’s emergency assistance shelter system is overfilling with migrants and will not be able to guarantee spots for eligible […]
Posted inEconomy
Low birth rates, slow immigration harms state workforce
ALMOST EVERY INDUSTRY, from hospitals to restaurants, is struggling to hire in Massachusetts. And while some of this may be due to COVID-related factors that will eventually diminish, a new […]
Posted inEconomy
Retaining international students should be a top priority for Massachusetts
THE RECENT MIDTERM elections are just the latest in a long string of events that have put immigration in the national spotlight. Unfortunately, the politics distract the public from understanding […]
