Attleboro area congressman calls on feds to visit state to assess migrant crisis
U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss is pushing for a federal assessment team to visit Massachusetts to look into the impact the migrant crisis is having on communities, including in the Attleboro area.
Auchincloss, a Newton Democrat who represents the Attleboro area in Congress, asked federal officials for such a visit after hearing from area legislators, including state Rep. Adam Scanlon, D-North Attleboro, and state Sen. Marc Pacheco, D-Taunton.
In response to letters from the legislators’ offices and following a call with local and federal leaders, Auchincloss sent a letter to the legislators informing them he has encouraged the Biden administration to send an assessment team to Massachusetts.
“I will continue to connect state and local officials and migrants arriving in Massachusetts’ Fourth District with the federal resources that are currently available and encourage the Biden administration to send an assessment team to Boston to see first-hand the challenges we are facing,” Auchincloss wrote in the letter.
“I share your deep frustration with our nation’s broken immigration system and its impact on our constituents,” Auchincloss said, referring to area legislators.
“This crisis is yet another clarion call for Congress to finally pass immigration reform,” he added. “I will continue to work to pass the bipartisan, comprehensive immigration reform that I have co-sponsored.”
The Dignity for Immigrants while Guarding our Nation to Ignite and Deliver the American Dream Act of 2023, or the “DIGNIDAD” (DIGNITY) Act, incorporates border security, a “fair and orderly” pathway to citizenship, and root-cause solutions, the congressman said.
“By hiring new Border Patrol agents, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers, and CBP intelligence specialists, we will be able to implement new policies to stop cartels from human trafficking and drug trafficking,” Auchincloss said.
Additional improvements would streamline legal commerce and trade, increase capacity of inspection lanes, and invest in advanced screening technology, he added.
“This legislation would create two new pathways to citizenship, including immediate protected status and a streamlined path for Dreamers and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients,” Auchincloss said.
For those seeking asylum, most claims would be adjudicated within 60 days.
“The bill would also reduce immigrant visa backlogs by granting immediate green cards to individuals who have been waiting for more than ten years,” Auchincloss said.
Foreign students who graduate with PhDs in STEM fields would be eligible for O visas — nonimmigrant visas designated for “individuals with extraordinary ability or achievement.”
“The cumulative effect of these visa changes would be a more fair and predictable queuing system that would also grow the economy and create jobs,” Auchincloss said.
North Attleboro, Foxboro, Plainville, Mansfield, Norton, and Franklin have become temporary homes to migrant families.
The local communities are among over 80 cities and towns in Massachusetts whose hotels have been selected by the state under its Emergency Assistance Family Shelter Program.
Because Massachusetts has a “right-to-shelter” law, it has a legal obligation to provide immediate emergency shelter to homeless families.
With state shelters overburdened, Gov. Maura Healey recently declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard to help communities meet the needs of migrants.
The emergency declaration is allowing the governor to appeal to the president for disaster relief funding, which could include money for emergency housing, food and water.
By: Stephen Peterson
Source: The Sun Chronicle