Those who have been sleeping overnight at the airport will be offered accommodation at a former minimum-security correctional facility.
Massachusetts authorities have announced that people will be barred from sleeping overnight on the floors of Boston’s Logan International Airport, where some 100 illegal immigrants have been staying in what amounts to a makeshift shelter.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey made the announcement in a June 28 press release, in which she said that a team of state officials had been dispatched to the southern border to notify border officials and NGOs that Massachusetts has run out of shelter space.
Those who have been sleeping overnight at the airport and were on an emergency shelter waitlist will be offered accommodation at a former minimum-security correctional facility in Norfolk, per the release.
The facility, which opened this week, is the refurbished Bay State Correctional Center. It will accommodate up to 140 families, or some 450 people, when operating at full capacity.
“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,” Emergency Assistance Director Scott Rice said in a statement. “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.”
Makeshift Airport Shelter
Illegal immigrants using Logan Airport as a makeshift shelter is a long-running issue as the country has been grappling with an influx of people crossing the southern border without authorization.
In November, Massport Interim CEO Edward Freni said at a press conference that people were being flown directly to the airport and that about 20 to 25 illegal immigrants per day were showing up at Logan Airport.
Mr. Freni said at the time that “it needed to be emphasized that Logan airport was not an appropriate place” to house illegal immigrants.
Massachusetts Sen. Peter Durant, a Republican, told The Epoch Times in January that allowing illegal immigrants to use Logan Airport as a makeshift shelter was an “absolute security risk.”
Local reports noted in February that the illegal immigrants had been moved out of O’Hare.
Massachusetts Warns Border Authorities
The Massachusetts governor’s announcement followed the dispatch of some members of Ms. Healey’s administration to the southern border to get the word out that the state’s emergency shelter system is full.
“This trip is an important opportunity to meet with families arriving in the U.S. and the organizations that work with them at the border to make sure they have accurate information about the lack of shelter space in Massachusetts,” Mr. Rice said in a June 25 statement. “It is essential that we get the word out that our shelters are full so that families can plan accordingly to make sure they have a safe place to go.”
The team visited the San Antonio Airport, Centro de Bienvenida/San Antonio Migrant Resource Center and Shelter, Ursula Processing Facility in McAllen, Hidalgo Port of Entry, and Brownsville Migrant Welcome Center, per the announcement. San Antonio, McAllen, Hidalgo, and Brownsville are the most common points of entry for illegal immigrants that later arrive in Massachusetts.
Earlier, Massachusetts started limiting how long homeless families, including illegal immigrants, can stay in shelters.
The length of stay has been capped at nine months, at the end of which people will be eligible for up to two 90-day extensions.
Alice Giordano contributed to this report.
