The consequences of the housing emergency in Massachusetts and the lack of Congressional action on immigration reform have collided to create a nightmare scenario that has Massachusett’s emergency shelter system apparently unable to cope. The state on Aug. 1 began to transition their “safety-net sites” to “temporary respite centers” and limit their usage to 5 days (with the possibility of an extension to 30 days) unless they are in a group prioritized for placement in an emergency assistance shelter, which is likely to exclude all of the migrants who are coming to Massachusetts for safety and opportunity. This comes as a result of what state and local officials are describing as federal inaction on immigration reform.

Gov. Maura Healy last year declared a state of emergency because of the increasing numbers of arriving migrants in Massachusetts in need of shelter and she further declared that the state’s shelter system was at capacity in October. A total of 7,500 families are currently being sheltered by the emergency assistance shelter system.

“We have been saying for months now that the rapid growth of our Emergency Assistance shelter system is not sustainable. Massachusetts is out of shelter space, and we simply cannot afford the current size of this system. Our administration has taken significant action over the past year to make the system more sustainable and help families leave shelter for stable housing. But with Congress continuing to fail to act on immigration reform, we need to make more changes,” said Gov. Maura Healey in a statement late last month.

She went on to indicate the state’s plan to offer “reticketing” — or paid travel to another jurisdiction where the state would no longer be responsible for them — as an option.

“This is in line with the policies of other cities facing similar challenges as Massachusetts and will help give families some relief for a few days while they access the diversion services we can provide, such as reticketing.”

The backlash from local politicians and community leaders was strong and immediate. Several Boston city councilors penned a letter to Gov. Healey denouncing the changes, criticizing the rushed nature of the new policy and the burden it places on cities. “We join together in opposition to this policy change that will fall heavily on immigrant families and the municipalities that will be left to deal with the consequences,” read the letter.

The councilors drew the governor’s attention to our city and country’s foundations as a place of refuge for those in the pursuit of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. “Massachusetts has long served as a beacon for immigrants by providing them with shelter and has reaped enormous benefits from the recent migration of large groups who have come here from places like Vietnam, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti, and who have thrived in our state.”

“The City will continue to support the State’s efforts, recognizing that a comprehensive, federal approach is essential to address this global challenge. Cities and states need urgent action from Congress for a sustainable system that offers clarity and humanitarian relief to families. Locally, we will continue collaborating with our community partners to find solutions and provide resources to individuals in shelter,” said a spokesperson of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.

Activists quickly denounced the limits and organized to urge the state to reverse course. A flier forwarded to Sampan from the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless and the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute shows the two organizations plans for protest action in front of the state house in August. A protest was also held outside the Springfield State Office last week.

That threat of homelessness is all too real for a family headed by one 29 year old migrant from Haiti, who spoke to Sampan on the condition of anonymity. She left Haiti when she was 19 due to harassment and danger to her life, fleeing to Chile where she gave birth to her two children. In 2020, she was given the opportunity to come to the United States for a period of two years through a Biden administration program, which served as an escape route from her life as a refugee in Haiti which was plagued by racism and sexual harassment that she faced from her boss while working in a factory there.

She had to travel through nine countries with her two small children by foot and by car. When she arrived in Boston in April of last year, the friend which she had sent money to in order for them to secure a room for her and her children upon arrival had stolen that money, leaving her and her children homeless. She spent a year living in a Holiday Inn which has been partially converted to serve as a shelter, while looking for work and studying to become a home health aide.

After traveling here and fleeing from danger in two separate countries, she is left with no option but to remain in the United States, yet these new restrictions on shelter use and the exhaustion of funds to support migrants jeopardize the ability for her to succeed here and for her family to remain sheltered.