Democrat Gov. Maura Healey of Massachusetts is reportedly sending officials to the southern border in Texas to steer migrants away from coming to her state.
The staffers have reportedly appeared in Brownsville, Hidalgo, McAllen, and San Antonio, to tell migrants in shelters that Massachusetts is full and has no room for more illegal border crossers.
The sudden move comes after months of Healey’s advocacy and budget allowances for migrants.
In May, Gov. Healey signed a state budget that provides another $426 million for housing for illegals, even as Massachusetts ranks among the worst states for citizens to leave for other states.
According to CBS News, the state’s shelter crisis director, Emergency Assistance Director General Scott Rice, was put in charge of the delegation to Texas.
State officials say that the four Texas cities are the most common areas that migrants flow through on their way to Massachusetts.
“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,” Rice said in a statement released to the press.
“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.”
Massachusetts is not officially a “sanctuary state,” as it has laws to prevent law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration officials. But it is also one of the few states that has a “right to shelter” law.
The Bay State also has a host of cities that have declared themselves sanctuary cities.
The state’s emergency shelter system has a capacity limit of 7,500 families, and it reached that limit in November. Currently the state reports 7,379 families in the system.
Massachusetts also passed a law in April that limits migrant families to nine months in the shelter system.
Officials in Colorado have also sent staff in search of migrants to tell them not to come to Colorado. In April, Denver’s “Newcomer Communications Liaison,” Andres Carrera, was seen on video telling migrants that there is no room for them in Denver and that they should move on to some other state.
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