The family arrived from Boston Logan Airport where dozens of illegal migrants slept on the ground.
Massachusetts residents angry after Governor closes recreation center to house migrants: “They don’t even care about us”
Shawn Nelson, a former candidate for the City Council in Boston, and Catherine Vitale both residents of Massachusetts, talk about their opposition to Governor. Maura Shealey shut down a recreation center for migrants.
A Massachusetts couple that volunteered to accept illegal immigrants was surprised when, less than an hour later, a family of 4 showed up on their doorstep.
As state shelters were at capacity and as migrant families slept in Boston Logan International Airport overnight, Colin and Jessica Stokes from Brookline, Massachusetts decided to take action.
“I thought, I need to put sheets on the bed. How many people will be there? What is their origin? What are their ages? Jessica said Friday, “We knew nothing.”
Colin said, “The need for help is overwhelming.”
Massachusetts couple welcomes migrant family. Jessica and Colin Stokes say the families of migrants who have arrived in their homes are “wonderful and appreciative.”
The four-person family was among the migrants who had slept at the airport. The parents and their two children traveled from Chile to Texas, before making it to Massachusetts.
They are waiting for a school to accept them. Parents stressed that even though they want to work, it will take months for the appropriate authorization forms to be approved and received.
Jessica says it’s incredible to see how difficult the situation is on the front line.
The family is beautiful. They show their appreciation. She added, “It has been fantastic.”
Massachusetts has faced a complex migrant crisis. In just one week, the state’s new emergency shelter in Roxbury (a Boston neighborhood) reached its maximum capacity of 400 people.
Jessica and Colin Stokes say the need to assist others in the face of the migrant crisis has become overwhelming, and that the “dysfunction’ is “disappointing.”
Gov. Maura Healey’s office said in late January the decision to move migrants into the state-owned Melnea Cass Recreation Center was “just born out of necessity” as other facilities in the state that have served as housing shelters, including the Logan Airport, have become overwhelmed.
She added, “We have to do whatever we need to at this moment.”
Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn, a local official, said that the lack of running water at the site made it a “nonstarter.”
The Stokes are hoping that other families will use them as an example and decide to host migrants in their homes.
“The dysfunction is disheartening. I know people who are well-intentioned work as hard as possible; this is a state emergency. Jessica said that it was distressing to witness the sheer volume.
