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A Department of Homeland Security team tasked with “assessing” the migrant situation in Massachusetts plans to visit Boston Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the Healey administration.
The trip comes as migrant arrivals have surged in Massachusetts, pushing an emergency shelter system already overburdened with the number of local homeless families into crisis mode. Skyrocketing housing costs and long processing periods for work authorizations have slowed both local families and migrants’ ability to exit temporary housing.
The Biden administration said last week it was sending a Homeland Security team to “assess the current migrant situation and identify ways to improve efficiencies and maximize our support for communities that are addressing the needs of migrants.”
“We look forward to having the DHS team visit Boston this week to better understand the challenges the city and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts are facing, and to make response recommendations as to how we continue to work together,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a Monday letter to Gov. Maura Healey.
A spokesperson for Healey said the administration “welcomes” the opportunity to show the assessment team “the extremely difficult situation we are facing and discuss badly-needed support.”
“Congress needs to act on President Biden’s $4 billion supplemental request which would make available some funding for cities and states. We will continue to advocate for more funding in addition to that and changes to the work authorization process,” spokesperson Karissa Hand said in a statement.
In a statement to the Herald, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said the agency is coordinating with Boston and state officials “to identify ways we can continue to maximize our support for communities that are addressing the needs of migrants while enforcing tough consequences against those without a legal basis to remain in the country.”
“We will continue to offer best practices and guidance to interior cities as they work to integrate eligible noncitizens into the American workforce, and to manage our nation’s broken immigration system in a safe, orderly, and humane way until Congress acts to fix it,” the spokesperson said while pointing to $2.8 million the Biden administration has shuttled to Boston.
For the past two months since declaring a state of emergency in response to the crowded emergency shelter system, Healey has called on the federal government to provide more funding to deal with migrant arrivals and make it easier for them to obtain work authorizations.
After meeting in person with Mayorkas at the State House over the summer, Healey penned a letter last month asking for two regulatory changes that would allow migrants to work once they’re granted immigration status by the federal government and use their application as a provisional employment authorization document.
In the Monday letter, Mayorkas said the feds have taken “several concrete steps” to quickly hand out work authorizations.
He said employment authorization applications were fast tracked for people who have been paroled into the United States following a CBP One appointment, as well as those paroled from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
“(U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is working to decrease media processing time for (employment authorization document) applications for these individuals to 30 days,” Mayorkas wrote.
Officials have also sent over 1 million notifications to people paroled into the U.S. to raise awareness about their eligibility to apply for a work authorization. And Mayorkas also pointed to a recent move by the Biden administration to extend temporary protected status for Venezuelans.
“This administration has overseen the largest expansion of lawful pathways to the United States in decades,” Mayorkas wrote.
A man stole financial documents and credit cards from an elderly person’s apartment in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood Tuesday, police said as they asked for the public’s help identifying the burglary suspect.
Boston police say the incident occurred between 1:15 p.m. and 3 p.m. in the area of 11 Woodcliff Street, the Cardinal Medeiros Manor Apartments.
According to police, the suspect allegedly entered the victim’s apartment, which is located in an elderly housing community, and convinced them to turn over financial documents before stealing several personal documents and credit cards.
The suspect is described as a man wearing glasses with a red shirt and black pants. He also had a lanyard around his neck, a tattoo on his right arm, and a brown backpack, police said.
An investigation into the incident is underway, and anyone with information is asked to call detectives at 617-343-4275. Anonymous tips can also be called into the CrimeStoppers tip line at 1-800-494-TIPS, or texted to CRIME (27463) with the word ‘TIP’.
Boston police are looking for a man they say inappropriately touched several students at a small high school near Copley Square.
Officers responded around 11:30 a.m. to the Snowden International School on Newbury Street in Back Bay after reports that the man had touched students as they were walking in and out of the building.
“That’s scary, that it’s happening right here,” one woman said.
According to a police report, the man had been seen in the area before, approaching two students. Documents state at one point, a student stated the man “touched his chest and asked, ‘Yo bro, do you work out?’”
Police said photos of the man were captured and sent out to other law enforcement officials.
The department said in a statement that it is “encouraging families to remind students about the importance of being aware of their surroundings and reporting any concerning behavior to their school.”
Boston Public Schools will have an increased Safety Services presence around the campus for the next few days.
Local News
A Boston man who allegedly assaulted a transgender woman at a Blue Line MBTA station on Halloween is facing charges of assault and violating the victim’s civil rights, officials said.
Gregory Burnett, 53, pleaded not guilty to assault and battery causing serious bodily injury, assault and battery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (his foot), and a civil rights violation with injury, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said.
The woman, 41, told police that another passenger boarded the train at Maverick, immediately approached her, and shouted “derogatory terms” at her, the DA said. Burnett allegedly said statements including “you’re not a woman, you’re a man.”
Burnett then punched and kicked her, including in the crotch area. The woman tried to defend herself, the DA said, but Burnett grabbed her foot and caused her to fall and fracture her wrist.
Other passengers helped the woman defend herself against Burnett and get him off the train, officials said.
The woman reported the incident to police the next day and said “she felt targeted due to her gender identity based on Burnett’s remarks during the assault,” the DA said.
MBTA police used witness descriptions and surveillance video to identify Burnett and apprehend him at Maverick last Tuesday, according to Hayden’s office.
Burnett was initially held in jail after being found dangerous in court, but was released last week on conditions to stay at home outside of work hours, according to court records. With a GPS, he is confined to his home outside of 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. He is also required to maintain employment, stay away from any witnesses, not commit any further offenses, and not possess any firearms.
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