‘Why Roxbury? Try Wellesley!’ Cass rec center turned over to migrants

Just 90 communities across Massachusetts are providing emergency shelter for migrants, but Gov. Maura Healey says the state turned a Roxbury recreational facility into a temporary shelter for migrants because “we really don’t have a choice.”

Roughly 75 migrants who had been sleeping overnight at Logan Airport have moved into the Melnea A. Cass Recreational Complex, with more individuals and families coming in the days ahead.

“We are here today because we really don’t have a choice,” Healey said during a news conference. “As you know, families continue to come into this country, continue to come into Massachusetts. … We are here because we need to make sure we have a place for people to go safely.”

Wednesday marked the first day of the Cass serving as a temporary overflow site for migrants, and while state and local officials vowed to embrace those taking up residence for the next few months as “brothers and sisters,” others protested the facility’s conversion.

A handful of residents gathered outside the center, shouting “Shame on Wu” and “Shame on Healey.” One man yelled at police guarding the facility, “It’s a (expletive) money grab. You don’t give a (expletive) about (those) born and raised here.”

A message on one sign read, “Why Roxbury? Try Wellesley!”

With the state reaching capacity for emergency housing in November of 7,500, meeting the needs of migrants has become particularly daunting for officials. Healey’s administration has said other safety-net sites are running in Cambridge, Quincy and Revere, while the United Way also has those types of sites in Greater Boston and Central Massachusetts.

The other sites haven’t prompted the firestorm that greeted last Friday’s announcement that the governor was honing in on Roxbury’s Cass Center. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu earlier this week said taking resources from an underserved community was “painfully familiar.”

A recent report from the Healey administration showed the hub had 1,308 families living in emergency assistance shelters, a tally that far outpaced the second place city of Worcester, which had 303 families, according to the data.

About 25% of beds in Boston shelters are for new migrant individuals not connected to a family, Wu said Wednesday, taxing the city’s emergency shelter system even further.

Despite her criticism, Wu thanked Healey for her “leadership in an impossible situation.” She highlighted how she stopped by Terminal E at Logan Tuesday and met with migrant families before she flew to D.C. to discuss the issue nationwide.

“Their families are the same, their stories are the same as ours,” the mayor said of the migrants. “People who just want to give their kids a chance at a better life, and we are a little bit stuck in a system where the federal machinery needs a lot of fixing. … It needs action.”

The Massachusetts Port Authority reported in November that roughly 20 to 25 migrants arriving daily at Logan had started to camp out temporarily in a baggage claim and elsewhere. That number grew significantly since, with some outlets reporting last week that up to 100 migrants slept overnight in Terminal E.

Healey confirmed on Monday that her administration would move forward with the plan to convert the Cass center into a temporary overflow shelter, with a promise to shut it down by May 31.

The governor’s plan outlines a 24/7 staffing schedule with on-site services that include three meals a day, “around-the-clock” security, school enrollment for children and case management aimed at stable housing.

The state has committed to making significant improvements to the Cass Center, including hiring more staff and renovating facilities. But the cost and specific details of those upgrades remains under consideration, according to a spokesperson from the state Department of Conservation and Recreation.

State Sen. Liz Miranda, who described the situation as a “state of emergency,” is calling on the feds and elected officials from elsewhere in Massachusetts to step up.

“Roxbury is doing their part,” she said. “I would ask all of my elected officials who represent the other 350 cities and towns in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to step up and do their part. This is our shared humanity and these are our people in our shared opportunity.”