Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D) announced Friday that illegal aliens will soon no longer be allowed to sleep at Boston Logan International Airport.
Reports from earlier this month stated that the number of illegal immigrants residing at the airport appears to be increasing. More than 100 individuals are sleeping on the floor in the baggage claim area on makeshift beds and air mattresses, the New York Post previously reported.
Beginning on July 9, the illegal aliens will be forced to leave the airport. Healey’s administration stated they would be offered accommodations at a new overflow site located in Norfolk. The neighborhood’s former Bay State Correctional Center has been converted into a temporary shelter.
‘In the best interest of families and travelers and staff.’
Healey’s administration previously claimed that it plans to use the facility as a shelter for illegal immigrants for six to 12 months. The site can house approximately 450 people, or 140 families, according to WBTS-TV.
The state aims to help the illegal aliens relocate “where they have family or another option for a safe place to stay,” WBZ reported.
Massachusetts, the only right-to-shelter state in the country, ran out of shelter space in November after providing accommodations to 7,500 families. Since then, the Healey administration has been relying on temporary emergency overflow sites to house pregnant women and families with children under 21 years old.
Emergency Assistance Director Scott Rice said, “This is in the best interest of families and travelers and staff at Logan, as the airport is not an appropriate place for people to seek shelter.”
Rice previously explained that the new overflow site features dorm-like rooms, a cafeteria, a gymnasium, a common room, and offices.
“We are going to continue to spread the word that Massachusetts is out of shelter space and that, if families are traveling to Massachusetts, they need to be prepared with a plan for housing that does not include Logan Airport or our Emergency Assistance shelters,” Rice added.
WBTS reported Wednesday that 20 to 25 families have already moved into the former decommissioned prison turned overflow site.
Rice stated that the administration has been focusing on moving individuals from shelters into “more stable housing.”
“With this progress, the recent opening of a new safety-net site in Norfolk and the new nine-month length of stay policy, we are now in a position to end the practice of families staying overnight in the airport,” Rice explained.
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