Massachusetts plans to turn shuttered prisons into emergency “safety net” locations for undocumented immigrants, Democratic Gov. Maura Healey’s office confirmed. WCVB Saturday.
The Bay State Correctional Center in Norfolk was decommissioned in 2015, but will soon serve as temporary housing for about 140 local homeless and undocumented immigrant families living in Massachusetts, the only state with a right-to-refuge law. Become.
The state’s emergency shelter system reached capacity of 7,500 households in November.
“All we know is that people are flocking here.”
Emergency Services Director Scott Rice said the facility is still “in good condition,” WCVB reported. The building, which was previously a minimum-security prison, reportedly features dormitory-like rooms, a cafeteria, a gymnasium, a common room, and offices. Residents have access to showers and bathrooms on each floor.
Rice told news outlets the state also plans to create a playground for children and classroom space for adults. The facility will host English courses for speakers of other languages, vocational training and housing search workshops, he added. The razor wire fence surrounding the property will be removed, and the gate to the facility will remain open.
The emergency shelter should be operational in June. According to the governor’s office, many of the families in the facility are currently sleeping at Boston’s Logan International Airport.
The town of Norfolk said: WBZ-TV He said he first learned the prison would be converted into a shelter on Friday. On Saturday, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll briefed the town on the plan.
Norfolk city officials said the jail will be used as a shelter for undocumented immigrants for six to 12 months. They told WBZ they had “no role in this decision” and were “not consulted beforehand.” Officials said plans to convert prisons into shelters present “many logistical challenges” and would be consulted with school leaders, police and fire chiefs.
“We’ve been set back a little bit,” said Jim Lehan, a member of the Norfolk Board of Selectmen.
“I started getting calls that I didn’t know anything about and had no idea what the calls were about. That was a little tough,” he added. “All we know is that people are coming here and there are issues associated with it and we have to get through it.”
Lehan pointed out that the town’s elementary schools do not have the space to support the additional large influx of children.
The town had scheduled a meeting with the state this week to discuss the project’s financial cost and who would pay for it.
In late April, the governor’s office national guard armory In Lexington, it was housed in a shelter for illegal immigrants, although the building is still in use.
Paul Craney of the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance told Blaze News: “The responsibility for the current immigration crisis in Massachusetts lies solely with the executive and legislative leadership on Beacon Hill. “They maxed out our shelter system, and then they maxed out the hotels that we were renting for them.” They are now maxing out their overflow sites and attempting to infiltrate our nation’s defense facilities. Until Beacon, Governor Healy has proven time and time again that he is willing to do anything but address the root cause of the problem. Mr. Hill mentions the factors that attract us to people around the world, and this problem will only get worse. ”
According to a March press release from Healey’s office, undocumented immigrants residing in the state’s overflow shelters are Reapply every month And provide evidence that they are trying to become independent.
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