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Dem. state rep. urges Healey to pivot, calls response to migrant surge ‘chaotic’
Gov. Healey declared a state of emergency last month in response to a rise in migrants coming to Massachusetts and a lack of housing. Her administration's response is now coming under fire.
Last month, Gov. Maura Healey declared a state of emergency in Massachusetts due to a surge in migrants coming to the state and the ongoing housing crisis. Now, a lawmaker with firsthand experience in responding to emergencies is calling on Healey to do more.
In a letter sent to the governor’s office Monday, Milton Democrat Rep. Bill Driscoll Jr. said that Healey’s administration is “underutilizing” the tools that currently exist to facilitate communication and coordination between government entities. Driscoll is co-chair of the Joint Committee on Emergency Preparedness and Management, and, according to the Boston Globe, an emergency expert who has led various national disaster response groups.
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“Those structures and frameworks should be turned on and utilized rather than the current state of play which appears to be hastily adapting the day-to-day operations of multiple agencies across multiple secretariats to attempt a version of crisis response,” Driscoll wrote. “A state of emergency has been declared yet the structure and cadence of the response underway is not recognizable to many with a lifetime of emergency management experience and expertise.”
Healey’s declaration was made in conjunction with an “urgent” appeal to the Biden administration for help speeding up work authorization for migrants and for funding.
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There was about an 80% increase from 2022 to 2023 in the number of families with children living in the state’s shelter system, she said at the time. Officials are increasingly relying on motels to provide shelter, with 1,706 families in motels as of Monday, according to state data.
At the end of August, Healey activated up to 250 members of the Massachusetts National Guard to help. The National Guard members were tasked with coordinating services at shelters, helping newly-arrived children enroll in school, and establishing regional rapid response teams made up of state employees.
While all those involved in the response are undoubtedly working hard, Driscoll wrote, the results have been lacking.
“The proverbial candle has been burned at both ends by many individuals who have worked hard to provide families in need of shelter with placements, care and attention. The response effort continues to be chaotic with many bumps in the road and I know that all involved have been trying to do their best under difficult circumstances,” he wrote.
About 800 families have entered the state’s Emergency Assistance system in the last month, according to Driscoll. Healey’s decision to use National Guard members and recent briefings show that the crisis is reaching a “new phase.” This requires a greater emphasis on interagency communication rooted in the leading practices of emergency and crisis management, he wrote.
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Driscoll urged Healey’s office to establish a “unified incident command structure” staffed daily by those knowledgeable in emergency response. This structure is an evolution of the “incident command structure,” an organizational tool that is the industry standard. Taking Driscoll’s recommendation would allow the state to “scale the response up or down with the future twists and turns” of the crisis, he argued.
Karissa Hand, a spokesperson for Healey, said in a statement to Boston.com that the governor’s office is reviewing the letter.
“Our Administration implemented an Incident Command Structure in May to manage this rapidly evolving and unprecedented emergency. Thanks to Incident Command’s coordination between Housing and Livable Communities, Health and Human Services, MEMA and the National Guard, we have successfully expanded critical service capacity and provided safe and secure shelter to thousands of children and families in need,” Hand said.
Healey has kept up pressure on federal officials in the weeks since making the emergency declaration. Last week, she sent a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas urging him to accelerate the process by which migrants get work authorization. Tens of thousands of jobs across Massachusetts are going unfilled while those in the shelter system desperately want to work and provide stability for their families, Healey wrote.
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In a closed-door meeting last week, lawmakers expressed frustration to Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll and other administration officials, State House News Service reported. A desire to improve channels of communication was at the heart of the concerns expressed by many representatives during the meeting.
The pressures of the situation are being acutely felt in Quincy, where a debate over an emergency shelter at Eastern Nazarene College is dividing residents.
Massachusetts is the only state with a right-to-shelter law that ensures families with children have a place to stay if they meet certain criteria.
As families inundate hotels in Woburn, Mayor Scott Galvin is calling for legislators to consider changing the right-to-shelter law, The New York Times reported.
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