by Jennie Taer
A Boston hospital became overwhelmed by a surge in illegal immigrants seeking shelter, leading it to change its policy allowing them to stay overnight in the emergency room, according to recent local reports.
The hospital is working to get the migrants out of its care if they’re not needing medical attention, it said in a statementshared with WCVB-TV Boston. The hospital reports an influx in migrant arrivals amid an uptick in illegal immigration at both the southern and northern borders in recent years.
“BMC has recently experienced its highest numbers of unhoused migrant families seeking shelter at our hospital since this crisis began. To ensure we can continue to fulfill our obligation as a health care provider for the communities we serve, and ensure the safety of unhoused families, BMC has notified the city and state that we will actively manage the number of unhoused individuals that can wait in the hospital,” Boston Medical Center told WCVB.
“We are focusing BMC resources on individuals actively in need of medical care, and their families. We are supporting families not requiring clinical care to get to state resources or alternative, safe places of shelter,” the hospital said.
Some migrants have been moved out of the hospital and sent to Boston Logan Airport, according to NBC10.
In late June, Democratic Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey announced the expansion of the city’s migrant sheltering capabilities sand that a family housing center would be established.
“In Massachusetts, we are committed to ensuring that families have access to safe and secure shelter. Over the past year, we’ve seen a steady rise in shelter demand due to the rising cost of housing, more families arriving in our nation and our state from other countries, and delayed federal work authorizations. Our administration has been working hard to meet this unprecedented need and use every resource at our disposal to help families,” Healey said at the time.
“That’s why we are establishing a Family Welcome Center to serve as a central entry point to connect families, particularly newly-arrived families, with the support they need, as well as turning to Joint Base Cape Cod as a temporary, emergency shelter option. We will continue working across our administration and with local and federal partners on long-term solutions to this crisis,” Healey added.
Joint Base Cape Cod, which has the capacity to shelter 60 people, was housing 54 families as of Tuesday, according to NewsCenter 5. There are an additional roughly 1,200 families in state-funded hotel rooms, up from 388 in January.
– – –
Jennie Taer is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Boston Medical Center” by Boston Medical Center.
