Massachusetts governor declares immigration emergency, emphasizes national significance.

Massachusetts Declares State of Emergency Over‌ Immigration Crisis

Two thousand miles away from the southern ‌tip of Texas, ⁣”sanctuary” state Massachusetts is the latest to declare a state of emergency for its inability to respond ‌to thousands of immigrants who have arrived after being released from ​federal custody at the U.S.-Mexico border.

“This is a national issue ​that demands a national response,” said Democratic ⁣Gov. Maura Healey during a press conference Tuesday morning. “Today, I am declaring a state of emergency in Massachusetts.”

Urgent Call⁤ for Help

Healey called on Washington to help Massachusetts because the state could not financially or logistically respond to the 20,000 immigrants living ​in state-funded shelters, ⁣hotels, dormitories, and other emergency facilities statewide‌ — an 80% increase from a year ago.

“It’s more families than our state ⁤has ever served, exponentially more than our state has ever served in our emergency assistance program,”‍ Healey‍ said. ‌”We’re ​unable ​to move people from⁤ housing and shelter into permanent housing because of this, so instead, we’ve been expanding and continuing to look for housing and shelter opportunities, expanding shelter ​at ‍a rapid pace,​ and ⁣it’s unsustainable.”

A Growing ​Crisis

Massachusetts joins other localities, including New York City, Chicago, and Washington, that have grappled to respond to the number of​ immigrants ⁣released into their communities from the border under President Joe Biden.

Since Biden took office, more than 2 million ‌people who illegally came across the southern border have been released into the U.S.