Massachusetts authorities have announced that illegal immigrant families and individuals will be barred from sleeping overnight on the floors of Boston Logan International Airport, where some 100 people have been staying in what amounts to a makeshift shelter.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said in a June 28 statement that a team of state officials was dispatched to the southern border to notify border officials and NGOs that Massachusetts has run out of shelter space.
Those who have been sleeping overnight at the airport and were on an emergency shelter waitlist will be offered accommodations at a former minimum-security correctional facility in Norfolk, Massachusetts, according to the release.
The facility, which opened as a shelter last week, is the refurbished former Bay State Correctional Center. It can accommodate up to 140 families, or some 450 people, when operating at full capacity.
“This is in the best interest of families and travelers and staff at Logan, as the airport is not an appropriate place for people to seek shelter,” Emergency Assistance Director Scott Rice said in a statement. “We are going to continue to spread the word that Massachusetts is out of shelter space and that, if families are traveling to Massachusetts, they need to be prepared with a plan for housing that does not include Logan Airport or our Emergency Assistance shelters.”
Makeshift Airport Shelter
Illegal immigrants using Logan Airport as a makeshift shelter is a long-running issue as the country has been grappling with an influx of people crossing the southern border without authorization.In November 2023, Massport Interim CEO Edward Freni said at a news conference that people were being flown directly to the airport and that about 20 to 25 illegal immigrants per day were showing up at Logan Airport.
Mr. Freni said at the time that “it needed to be emphasized that Logan Airport was not an appropriate place” to house illegal immigrants.
Massachusetts state Sen. Peter Durant, a Republican, told The Epoch Times in January that allowing illegal immigrants to use Logan Airport as a makeshift shelter was an “absolute security risk.”
Massachusetts Warns Border Authorities
The governor’s announcement followed the dispatch of some members of Ms. Healey’s administration to the southern border to get the word out that the state’s emergency shelter system is full.“This trip is an important opportunity to meet with families arriving in the U.S. and the organizations that work with them at the border to make sure they have accurate information about the lack of shelter space in Massachusetts,” Mr. Rice said in a June 25 statement. “It is essential that we get the word out that our shelters are full so that families can plan accordingly to make sure they have a safe place to go.”
The team visited San Antonio International Airport and Centro de Bienvenida/San Antonio Migrant Resource Center and Shelter in San Antonio; Ursula Central Processing Center in McAllen, Texas; Hidalgo Port of Entry in Hidalgo, Texas; and the Brownsville migrant welcome center in Brownsville, Texas, according to the announcement. San Antonio, McAllen, Hidalgo, and Brownsville are the most common points of entry for illegal immigrants who later arrive in Massachusetts.
Earlier, Massachusetts started limiting how long homeless families, including illegal immigrants, can stay in shelters.
The length of stay has been capped at nine months, at the end of which people will be eligible for up to two 90-day extensions.
