Gov. Maura Healey is proposing a residency requirement in the state’s right to shelter law, a dramatic overhaul that has long been called for by Republicans.
In a letter sent to legislators today, Healey asked to add a mandate to the law that would limit shelter to those who prove they have been in the state for three months. Applicants would be required to verify their “identity, residency, and status” through documents or “physical presence in the state” prior to being approved for the system and placed in an emergency assistance shelter.
Massachusetts is the only state with a right to shelter law, which requires the state to provide shelter to families and pregnant women. The 1983 law has been under fire for the past two years as a growing number of migrants have arrived seeking shelter and humanitarian relief. About half of shelter residents are migrant families.
“In the face of continued inaction by Congress and no assistance from the federal government, I believe these changes are appropriate and needed to ensure the long-term sustainability of the state shelter system in a way that aligns with the original intent of the law,” said Healey in a press statement.
She said the proposed changes would “ensure safety” and put Massachusetts on a path to a “more fiscally sustainable shelter system.” Her request comes about two weeks after an undocumented immigrant was arrested with a rifle and 10 pounds of fentanyl in a Revere shelter , and as the Massachusetts Legislature considers approving more funds to keep shelters open.
The letter is addressed to House Speaker Ron Mariano, Senate President Karen Spilka, Senate Committee on Ways and Means Chair Michael Rodrigues, and House Committee on Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz.
In a statement, Mariano said the House has consistently led the effort to ensure that the commonwealth’s emergency assistance program could remain “financially viable,” citing reforms to the maximum length of stay and job training.
He said as the House continues to work on the supplemental budget proposal filed by Healey earlier this month, it will “remain focused on instituting further reforms centered around fiscal responsibility and safety.”
Another part of Healey’s proposal would be a requirement to prove an applicant had been evicted from a home in Massachusetts.
In her letter, Healey said she also wants to see a strengthening of criminal background checks. The proposal would require all applicants to disclose criminal convictions in Massachusetts or elsewhere. It would also codify the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities’ policy of conducting a CORI check prior to placement. It was reported last week that the state has only been checking for outstanding warrants and sex offenses.
Public records were recently released showing serious incidences in the state’s many shelters.
MassGOP has been pushing for a change to the law for years. “It’s a shame that the Healey-Driscoll Administration took this long to come to terms with the gravity of the situation,” said Amy Carnevale, chair of the MassGOP. “And it’s an even bigger shame that it was only after the information they’ve known for the past two years became public that they finally decided to take action. If Democrats had listened to the calls for reform from Republicans two years ago, we would not be at this crisis point today.”
Advocates told GBH News they had either not heard about the proposal, or were alerted about an hour before without full context to the proposed changes.
Andrea Park, director of community-driven advocacy at Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, said she believes the changes would put families in harm’s way.
“How do you enforce this? What are the documents that prove why you may be here? It’s just going to provide a lot more opportunity for there to be very subjective determinations made,“ Park said.
Jeff Thielman, CEO of International Institute of New England, which provides English language and legal services to new arrivals in shelters, said he recognized the political pressure to make changes.
”I realize we’re spending a lot of money and the governor has to respond somehow,“ he said. ”But I don’t like the sentiment that ... we should be fearful of immigrants coming here.“
