Brendan Fitzpatrick
Sep 11
News

Healey Appeals to Feds to Speed Up Migrant Work Process

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey has made an appeal to the federal government to speed up the process to authorize migrants for work.

Joshua Qualls, Governor’s Press Office

FRAMINGHAM - Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey has made an appeal to the federal government to speed up the process to authorize migrants for work, as the state continues to manage an influx of people from outside of the United States.

State officials recently appealed to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), citing both the local refugee crisis and ongoing workforce shortages. In a letter addressed to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Healey advocated for changes that would allow more migrants to be authorized to work and for more assistance for emergency shelters across the Commonwealth.

This comes as Framingham continues to be impacted by the increase in the refugee population. Most of the people being sheltered in a trio of hotels within the city are from Haiti. Multiple organizations have been working in conjunction with Mayor Charlie Sisitsky in order to secure vital resources like food and clothing for more than 50 families in Framingham.

Healey had previously declared a state of emergency on the matter, as up to 250 National Guard members are eligible to be activated to help at emergency hotel sites within Massachusetts.

Further articles

Recently, the Danforth Art Museum hosted a panel discussion on what actions can be taken locally to address the impacts of climate change.

This week on The Frame: Mayor Sisitsky gives his annual State of the City address, Geoffrey Epstein explains why he’s entering the race for mayor in 2025, and a dive into what actions are being taken locally to address climate change.

The mayor highlighted local accomplishments and future challenges during his annual State of the City address on Monday.