Evictions of migrant housing in Massachusetts

Massachusetts' new housing policy will force dozens of migrant families onto the streets on Friday.

The new restrictions are causing controversy across the country.

Demonstrators gathered for a vigil outside the State House on Thursday to protest new shelter guidelines that went into effect on August 1.

These changes limit the stay in emergency shelters to five business days. In addition, any family that chooses to stay in one of these shelters after August 1 will be removed from the emergency shelter waiting list for six months.

Governor Maura Healey's office has stated that converting these safety net sites into temporary respite centers and limiting stays to five days is necessary to create space and provide short-term respite for needy newly arriving families.

The administration informed 57 families who were housed in the emergency shelters before August 1 that they had to leave by Friday.

Some of these families have been “re-ticketed” or given airline tickets to relatives or friends out of state. Others may be allowed to stay longer, as shelter providers have the discretion to extend emergency shelter stays for up to 30 business days.

However, the people who work closely with these homeless families do not like this.

“The families in the shelters – whether they are immigrants to the state of Massachusetts or have lived here for a very long time – need help and compassionate help now, and we are a state with a lot of resources. I think we can help them,” said Jeff Thielman of the International Institute of New England.

“To me, this goes completely against the values of our state that Massachusetts should represent, which is that we are truly here for everyone and everyone is welcome here,” said Russell Weiss-Irwin, an English teacher at a Boston Public Schools middle school.

It is unclear what will happen if any of these families refuse to leave the shelters.