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 stoke DeSantis’s presidential profile and give Massachusetts a small taste of the immigration crisis roiling the country’s southern border.

The incident attracted national attention and Massachusetts officials went out of their way to show how welcoming the state could be. “We are a community that comes together to support immigrants,” said state Rep. Dylan Fernandes, who represents Martha’s Vineyard.

But a year later, in the face of a rising tide of migrants coming to the state, the welcome mat is starting to wear thin. Concerns are rising, particularly in local communities playing host to emergency shelters, and Gov. Maura Healey’s administration is openly admitting it is struggling to keep up with a humanitarian problem that shows no signs of abating.

On August 8, Healey declared a state of emergency in the face of 5,500 families living in shelters provided by the state. She said she was proud of the state’s efforts to help people in need of shelter and other necessities, but warned that the problem was getting out of hand because fewer people are leaving emergency shelters because of a lack of available affordable housing and more migrants are arriving every day.

“Even though we are currently spending more than $45 million per month on programs to help these families, our ability to create enough new shelter space and to provide necessary supportive services is falling short,” said Healey in a letter to federal officials. “Simply put, we do not currently have the tools we need to meet the rapidly rising demand for emergency shelter.”

On Thursday, a month later, the number of families in emergency shelter had risen to 6,200, an increase of nearly 13 percent. By Monday, the number was up to 6,373 and continuing to rise. The Healey administration, which has brought in the National Guard to help provide services at hastily arranged shelters, hasn’t released a new estimate of the cost of its shelter effort, but it’s probably well in excess of $50 million a month by now.

Healey has tried to remain positive, with her latest gambit to make lemonade out of lemons by asking the Biden administration to bend federal immigration rules to allow migrants to start jobs more quickly and fill job openings in the rebounding economy.

“From healthcare to manufacturing to leisure and hospitality, our industries need more workers. Every work authorization issued represents an opportunity to meet employer needs, support our economy, and reduce dependency among new arrivals,” Healey wrote on September 7.

So far, the Biden administration hasn’t budged – the politics are complicated for a president seeking reelection at a time when Republican candidates are accusing the administration of leaving the borders unprotected.

Rep. William Driscoll Jr. of Milton, the House chair of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Emergency Preparedness and Management, sent a letter to Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll on Monday urging them to start treating the shelter situation as the emergency they have declared it is.  He called for a unified command structure within state government and a more aggressive approach to dealing with the problem.

“The structure and cadence of the response underway is not recognizable to many with a lifetime of emergency management experience and expertise,” Driscoll wrote. “Approximately 800 families have entered the [emergency shelter] system in the past month alone and a new highwater mark of families in the system is being set week after week. The calling up of additional National Guard along with recent briefings to legislators, municipalities, and NGOs underscores that we are entering a new phase of the crisis. It is well past time for the Commonwealth’s plan and approach to evolve.”

BRUCE MOHL

FROM COMMONWEALTH

Commuter rail service expanding: The MBTA’s commuter rail system is expanding service, adding late-night trains out of Boston and increasing frequency during peak periods on the Lowell, Fitchburg, Franklin, and Worcester lines to meet demand and reduce overcrowding.

– The move is another sign of commuter rail’s resurgence. It also stands in stark contrast to the retrenchment seen with the MBTA’s bus and subway systems, both of which are struggling to meet already reduced service levels.

– According to the most recent MBTA figures, the commuter rail system had 93,071 passenger trips in July, 78 percent of the level pre-COVID in July 2019. Bus ridership is at 75 percent of pre-COVID levels, while subway ridership is at 53 percent. Read more.

Campbell snubs Senate: Attorney General Andrea Campbell last week greenlighted a ballot question put forward by Auditor Diana DiZoglio that would make clear her office has the authority to audit the Legislature. In doing so, Campbell rejected a submission from the Senate legal counsel challenging DiZoglio’s petition. Read more.

OPINION

Retirement accounts: Sen. Sal DeDominico of Everett and Rep. Paul Donato of Medford call for passage of legislation giving all employees access to individual retirement accounts. Read more.

FROM AROUND THE WEB

BEACON HILL

In the latest sign of growing tension between the Healey administration and other Democrats over the migrant shelter crisis, state Rep. William Driscoll, co-chair of the Joint Committee on Emergency Preparedness and Management, wrote a letter slamming the administration’s handling of the surge of arrivals, saying the “structure and cadence” of the state’s response is inadequate. (Boston Globe)

MUNICIPAL MATTERS

Leominster is cleaning up destruction and issuing evacuation orders after significant flooding, which required hovercrafts and boats through the night to get people to safety. (MassLive)

HEALTH/HEALTH CARE

The US Food and Drug Administration approves new COVID-19 vaccines. (NPR)

Despite opposition from lawmakers, nurses, and community organizations, UMass Memorial Health will not delay closing the health system’s maternity unit in Leominster this month. (Worcester Telegram)

ELECTIONS

Voters in a handful of Boston city council districts go to the polls in today’s preliminary city contest that will narrow the field for the November final election, with all eyes on scandal-plagued incumbents Ricardo Arroyo and Kendra Lara, who are both fighting to retain their seats. (Boston Herald)

Tuesday is preliminary day for a handful of Massachusetts cities and towns, with Boston, Haverhill, Waltham, Newton, Peabody, and Springfield taking to the polls to narrow their elected fields. (MassLive)

BUSINESS/ECONOMY

JetBlue offers to give up Spirit gates at Logan International and other airports to make its acquisition of the discount carrier more palatable to regulators. (Associated Press)

EDUCATION

The Brockton schools assistant CEO plans to sue under whistleblower protection law, saying he warned the system’s CFO about the impending financial crisis as early as July 2022, well before the revelations about a surprise $14.4 million deficit became public. (The Enterprise)

ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT

Federal funding to remove lead water lines in the state was cut in half – and nobody seems to know why. (Boston Globe)

Coastal New England is gearing up for Hurricane Lee, with some harbormasters recommending that boats be pulled from marinas and others hoping the storm’s impact largely passes them by. (New Bedford Standard-Times)

CRIMINAL JUSTICE/COURTS

A retired state police detective and his wife received suspended sentences in a case in which a 17-year-old drowned in their Dedham pool at a high school graduation party where minors were drinking. The case may not be over, as the lawyer for the couple says the retired police captain, James Coughlin, was attacked outside the courtroom and is demanding charges against the assailants. (Boston Herald)