Migrant Surge in Massachusetts Force Governor to Declare State of Emergency
In a press conference held last week, Gov. Healey described the migrant situation in her state as a federal crisis caused by several years of inaction. She has decided to declare the influx of migrants as a state of emergency.
In a letter addressed to Secretary Alejandro
Mayorkas of Homeland Security, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey is asking federal officials for help with the ongoing migrant surge. First and foremost is the need to expedite the processing of work permits for asylum-seekers.
In response, Secretary Mayorkas said his team has been trying to manage immigration issues on a nationwide scale but they are facing staffing and funding limitations.
Ms. Healey, who is a new Democratic governor and still in the stages of building a relationship with the White House, was careful not to blame the Biden administration for this political issue. She is well aware that there is hardly a budget to use on what is actually a national immigration problem that calls for a congressional solution.
Senator Warren Also Wants Biden Administration to Speed Up Processing of Work Permits
Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren made the same call for action of speeding up the processing of work permits for the migrants in Massachusetts. According to the Senator, the migrants in the state desperately want to work so they can support themselves. On the other hand, there are matching employers who need and want to hire them immediately.
However, according to Sen. Warren, old-fashioned government bureaucracy has been causing the delay in the processing of migrant work permits. She told the hosts of WBZ’s “Keller @ Large” that
“This is one of those instances when we could make our lives and economy better if we could free up the paperwork and just let people go to work.”