Deadline looms for first migrant families to receive eviction notices

BOSTON — The clock is ticking for dozens of migrant families to vacate the overflow shelters where they’re staying.

A spokesperson with the Governor’s Office said the first round of eviction notices went out to a total of 57 migrant families.

They have until Friday to leave their shelters which the state is now calling “temporary respite centers”.

Migrant stays are now limited to five days as part of the state’s new strict rules on shelter stays.

The new rules also state that families who stay in the temporary respite centers can’t get placement in the emergency shelter system for at least six months.

“They’re not going into the respite centers because they know they’ll be ineligible for emergency assistance,” said Jeffrey Thielman, Executive Director of the International Institute of New England. “We’re going to see lots of people on the streets.”

Boston 25 News aired images last week of migrant families spending the night outside Boston Medical Center.

Thielman predicts that’s going to be happening on a larger scale with each day as migrants steer clear from the state’s temporary respite centers.

“It is not healthy to punish people by telling them if you stay in a respite center you can’t get into the emergency shelter system,” he said.

Thielman said he and other providers pooled their ideas and concerns about the situation during a conference call on Sunday afternoon.

“Some providers are stepping up and finding places for people to stay tonight,” said Thielman. “Others, like us, are trying to figure out, if we can we get money from different sources to help by putting people in hotels for a few nights.”

According to a spokesperson with Governor Healey’s office, some of the first families to be evicted from temporary respite centers have already been reticketed.

However, the state isn’t saying exactly how many.

Boston 25 News has also been asking how many migrant families have accepted plane or bus tickets to leave Massachusetts in recent weeks, but the state has not yet answered that question.

“They’re not leaving Massachusetts from what I’m hearing. They’re not. Maybe the state has different data. It’d be great to see that data, but I’m not seeing it,” added Thielman.

Governor Healey spokesperson Karissa Hand sent the following statement to Boston 25 News about the first round of verbal and written notices:

“This new policy will help open up space at temporary respite centers so that families have a place to stay temporarily while they work with case managers to identify alternative housing. Massachusetts is out of shelter space and cannot continue to afford the size of this system.”

—  Gov. Maura Healey's office

A recent report released by The Center for Immigration Studies, a conservative group, projects Massachusetts will spend $1.8 billion over the next two years to manage a growing number of migrants coming to the state.

It laid out a slew of costs in addition to housing including schooling, social services and medical care.

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