Gov. Healey says the message that Mass. shelters are at capacity was delivered at border

Gov. Maura Healey said the delegation she sent to the southern U.S. border delivered the message that Massachusetts' shelters are at capacity.

"We don't have housing available right now," she said, describing the message her delegation brought to Texas earlier this week. "And we wanted to be really clear. It's something I've been saying for a long time, but I think it's important that we be able to communicate directly with folks on the ground there."

"We've been dealing with this crisis for a long time now," Healey told reporters at the State House on Wednesday. The governor declared a state of emergency last summer to address the record-number of families seeking shelter in the state system.

State government over the last year-plus has vastly increased spending to accommodate migrant arrivals who have fled their home countries. While Massachusetts opened its doors, officials in recent months agreed to new plans to force some migrant families out of shelters and are now sending a more firm message about how much Massachusetts can do.

"I think it's important that we be out there with that message," Healey said. "I mean, while we're trying to house people here, get them jobs, get them employed, get them out of shelter, and we've seen people exit shelter, particularly that migrant families have been exiting shelter. It's also important, as I've said from the outset, that we be clear that we've reached capacity here and Massachusetts can't continue to try to find ways to house new arrivals."

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday praised law enforcement efforts to stem southern border crossings.

"The border security steps we have taken over the past 18 months are bringing order," Mayorkas said during an appearance in Tuscon, Arizona, after ticking off actions taken in connection with an executive order issued by President Joe Biden.

Immigration and border issues are likely to feature in Thursday's 2024 election debate between Biden and former President Donald Trump.

Both Mayorkas, in Tuscon, and Healey, at the State House, promoted Biden's executive order while repeating their call for Congress to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill, an accomplishment that Congress has been unable to replicate since the 1980s.