Lawmakers eye post-election immigration shift
Republican or Democrat, beacon hill lawmakers hoping for an assist from washington on the ongoing migrant crisis are fixing their gaze on the other side of election Day, with one senate Republican saying he sees “a lot of election year politics” at play.
The federal government has thus far not provided immigration reforms or monetary aid to ease the burden on state government as Massachusetts and other states continue to house thousands of migrants in shelters and overflow sites.
senate ways and Means chairman Michael Rodrigues, asked this week about the feds stepping up to help Massachusetts with migrant funding, pointed ahead to the nov. 5 election, now less than six months away.
“so we are hoping that postelection, the federal government will come to their senses. The fact that immigration is an issue controlled by the federal government, the fact that all of these legal asylum-seeking migrants came to Massachusetts is a result of federal policy. And we really think that the feds need to step up and support the policies that they implement,” Rodrigues, a Democrat from westport, told reporters at a budget press briefing.
Republican senator Peter Durant of spencer thinks the prevailing optimism about looking past november is less about who wins the white house or controls congress than it is about putting campaign season in the rearview mirror.
“well, i certainly think that there’s something to be said for the fact that it is a wedge issue. And that both sides have, let’s say, an incentive to go in the direction that they want to go in for november. And so, yeah, i think we’re looking at a lot of election-year politics,” Durant told the news service on Thursday.
President biden, along with Governor Maura healey and other beacon hill leaders were in unison in february calling for passage of a border security and immigration reform bill in the Us senate. The bill was blocked by an alliance of senate Republicans and five progressive Democrats, including the bay state’s two voices in the room, Us senators elizabeth warren and edward Markey.
house speaker Ronald Mariano said in April that “we’re going to be stuck where we are today” barring some action in washington like “a change in attitude in the congress.”
“either they shut the border down and make some adjustments of the border, or find us some money to help pay for this. it’s pretty simple,” the speaker told reporters last month.