Dem mayor urges Massachusetts to reform 'right-to-shelter' law amid growing migrant crisis straining local resources

A Democratic mayor from a small town in Massachusetts recently urged state lawmakers to reform the state's "right-to-shelter" law amid the growing migrant crisis straining local resources, the New York Times reported.

Scott Galvin, the mayor of Woburn, a town located approximately 10 miles northwest of Boston, pleaded with lawmakers to reform a 1983 law requiring officials to provide shelter to homeless families, including pregnant women and those with children.

Massachusetts is the only state in the nation with a right-to-shelter law.

Galvin argued that the law was "passed at a different time and was not meant to cover what we're seeing now."

Woburn is currently providing 150 families with housing in the town's hotels. According to Galvin, the situation is unsustainable.

"We're going above and beyond, while some communities around us are not being impacted, and we don't have endless capacity in our schools," Galvin said. "The benefits that are bestowed on migrants make the state a very attractive destination, and without some changes, this challenge is not going to abate."

Galvin previously explained to WFXT that no local approval is needed for the commonwealth to place migrants in his town.

"There's no need for local approval. The governor places families in any community where there's a willing hotel owner to take those families," he said.

Massachusetts is spending approximately $45 million monthly to house 6,300 families in the state's emergency shelter space. State officials estimate that approximately 7,500 families will be housed in the state by October, according to WCVB.

In August, Democratic Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey declared a state of emergency over the growing migrant crisis and pleaded with the federal government for "urgently needed" support.

Healey also wrote a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, blaming the crisis on "numerous factors, among them federal policies on immigration and work authorization."

A few weeks later, Healey announced that the state would be activating up to 250 National Guard members to assist at emergency shelters by coordinating basic needs, transportation, and medical care for migrants. The National Guard members will also help enroll migrant children in local schools.

Last week, Healey sent another letter to Mayorkas urging the federal government to make changes to the work authorization process that would allow migrants arriving in the country to find employment.

"It's not sustainable. We're trying to get ahead of it, but if we continue down this road, you know, there's a breaking point," Galvin stated.

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