Cash-strapped sanctuary state on track for record number of deportation cases

Federal immigration authorities in Massachusetts, a state that has spent millions to house migrants, are on track to prosecute a record number of deportation cases, Boston 25 reported.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has filed more than 44,000 new deportation cases in Massachusetts courts in the first nine months of fiscal year 2024, seconds Boston 25. If this pace continues, the total number of applications in the state could reach nearly 59,000 by the end of the fiscal year, surpassing the 54,000 removal cases seen in the previous fiscal year, which was the largest number of new filings in the state. in about a quarter of a century.

The growing pace of cases continues despite Massachusetts, a “sanctuary state” for illegal immigrants, taking steps to force asylum seekers out of shelters and incentivize them to leave the state entirely.

Democratic Gov. Maura Healey last month declared that the state would limit stays in overflowing migrant shelters to just five days. In addition, the governor's office said airfare and other travel expenses would be covered for migrants who want to move out of state.

“I want to be clear, especially for people outside of Massachusetts who may have had the word that this is a place to come, that we don't have space here in Massachusetts,” Healey said during a news conference in July. seconds Boston News 25.

The governor's office stressed in a press release at the time that the financial toll on the migrant reception system was unsustainable and that reforms would be made.

“Massachusetts has no shelter space and we simply cannot afford the current size of this system,” the governor told the press release. “That's why we're making changes [Emergency Assistance] prioritizing and transitioning our safety net sites to five-day temporary respite centers.”

The five-day stay limit marked a major reduction from previous limitations. The four state shelters currently operating in Massachusetts, located in Chelsea, Norfolk, Lexington and Cambridge, previously allowed migrant families to stay for 30 days and offered options to reapply. seconds Boston 25.

The state's downsizing of migrant shelters followed huge taxpayer expenditures to house and feed migrants. Earlier this year, Massachusetts was spending roughly $75 million a month to house families in its shelters, seconds GBH, a local outlet.

The governor deployed several top state officials in border communities in June to warn illegal immigrants against making Massachusetts their destination of choice because the state's emergency system was overwhelmed.

The Center for Immigration Studies identifies Massachusetts as a “sanctuary” jurisdiction, citing a 2017 court decision that limits law enforcement's ability to detain criminal illegal immigrants based only on a detention request from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Massachusetts' record number of deportation cases reflects a national trend, seconds the Boston Globe. Immigration courts across the country experienced a more than 300% increase in removal cases from FY 2018 to FY 2023.

“The nationwide increase in new deportation cases during the Biden administration is primarily due to an increase in asylum seekers entering the United States, both at the US-Mexico border and at airports” , said Austin Kocher, a professor at Syracuse University. in the Boston Globe. “Many of these migrants enter legally through parole programs created to facilitate the humanitarian process. Political instability is a driving factor for migrants.”

Healey's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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