Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey was among nine governors who called on federal officials to fix the country’s immigration system in a Monday letter, urging leaders from both major political parties “to work together to solve what has become a humanitarian crisis.”
The letter pushes for Congress and the White House to “quickly negotiate an agreement on a border security legislative package.” The governors asked for a proposal that includes federal funding for border states but also interior states and cities that are receiving new arrivals, and for a “serious commitment to modernizing our immigration system.”
The letter pointed to President Biden’s proposed $106 billion supplemental funding request last year that was aimed at addressing immediate national security concerns, including $4.4 billion in funding for a federal migration strategy with $1.4 billion in aid to states and localities.
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That request, according to the governors, would provide “a minimum level of funding and actions that will allow the United States to begin transformational reforms to its immigration system and uphold the principles of democracy that America was built upon.” Specifically, the money would help beef up border security, accelerate processing times for immigrants, and boost deportation proceedings for those who are ineligible to stay in the US, the letter said.
“States and cities cannot indefinitely respond to the subsequent strain on state and local resources without Congressional action,” read the letter. “Communities along the southern border — as well as interior states and cities across the country — lack the vast coordinated infrastructure needed to respond to the humanitarian and public safety concerns of those seeking lawful entry into the United States.”
Healey, a Democrat, was joined in signing the letter by the Democratic governors of New York, Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, and New Mexico. It was sent to Biden and congressional leaders from both sides of the aisle.
Locally, the number of migrants has soared in Massachusetts, maxing out emergency shelters. For decades, homeless families have been guaranteed a roof over their heads under a 1980s-era law in Massachusetts, the only state in the country with a so-called right-to-shelter requirement.
But a current statute makes the mandate “subject to appropriation,” meaning the state is required to follow it only as long as it has enough funding. And state officials have asserted that they can no longer guarantee shelter past 7,500 families.
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Previously, Healey twice wrote to the Biden administration, imploring officials to quickly grant work permits to the thousands of migrants who have overwhelmed the state’s shelter system and to send money to help the state provide necessary resources such as housing and transportation.
Samantha J. Gross of Globe staff contributed to this report.
Danny McDonald can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @Danny__McDonald.