Massachusetts Governor seeks National Guard’s assistance amidst blue state’s migrant concerns.
Massachusetts Governor Mobilizes National Guard to Assist with Migrant Influx
Massachusetts governor Maura Healey (D.) has taken action to address the strain caused by the massive influx of unlawful migrants following the Biden administration’s suspension of Title 42.
Members of the Massachusetts National Guard will assist in providing services to migrants as the state’s other resources are spread thin. Healey activated 250 guardsmen for this operation. The governor earlier this month declared a state of emergency in response to the surge in migrants.
Healey joins a growing group of Democrats who are embracing more hawkish approaches to immigration as their jurisdictions struggle to accommodate record numbers of immigrants illegally entering the country. Democrats in New York, New Jersey, Colorado, and Washington, D.C., have employed strategies typically favored by Republicans to address the consequences of Biden’s immigration policy.
New York City Mayor Takes Surprising Measures
New York City mayor Eric Adams has employed a host of measures clashing with his prior welcoming statements toward illegal immigrants. Adams submitted a request to a judge to relieve the city of its obligation to shelter migrants, distributed flyers at the southern border discouraging migrants from coming to New York, and clashed with the governor over plans to bus migrants to upstate New York.
New Jersey Governor Shifts Stance on Immigration
Governor Phil Murphy (D.) of neighboring New Jersey has also seemingly abandoned his pro-immigrant credentials now that the issue is at his state’s border. Murphy, who has previously said that New Jersey would be a sanctuary state, is vocally opposed to migrants in New York being transferred to his state.
“You need scale, enormous amount of federal support, resources that go beyond anything that we can afford,” Murphy said of accommodating the migrants. “Putting everything else aside, I just don’t see it.”
Democrats Adopting Republican Strategies
Colorado governor Jared Polis (D.) earlier this year took a page out of Governor Greg Abbott’s (R., Texas) playbook, busing migrants who had been difficult to accommodate to New York City and Chicago. D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser (D.), meanwhile, has twice tried to convince the Pentagon to deploy the national guard to assist with the migrant crisis, only for her requests to be rejected.
Residents of blue cities and states appear fed up with the inability of their leaders to handle the inflow of immigrants. A recent viral clip showed the primarily African-American residents of Chicago’s south side voicing concerns about migrants in their community. “I don’t want them there,” one resident shouted in response to the city’s decision to house migrants in a neighborhood hotel.
Community and business leaders in New York, meanwhile, have authored a letter to the Biden administration pleading with them to do more to alleviate the migrant crisis while attempts to move migrants into different neighborhoods have been met with protests from residents.
Record High Illegal Crossings
Illegal crossings reached an all-time high in August, with border patrol agents arresting 177,000 individuals. This figure does not include migrants who evaded authorities. The Biden administration has attempted to stem the flow by limiting the number of asylum claims they would process per day. However, the administration ended up ignoring its own rules, waiving through nearly 1,500 migrants per day in July.
Governor Healey seemingly placed some blame on the federal government for the situation, saying the crisis was the result of “a confusing tangle of immigration laws, an inability for migrants to obtain work authorization from the federal government, an increase in the number of people coming to Massachusetts, and the lack of an affordable housing supply in our state.”
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