Gov. Charlie Baker frustrated over lack of immigration reform measures

Stymied by bureaucratic hurdles in state and federal government, Gov. Charlie Baker reaffirmed his plea Tuesday for the White House to pursue immigration reform that could alleviate a burgeoning humanitarian crisis in Massachusetts.

Baker wants President Joe Biden to give people who are seeking asylum the opportunity to work during the process.

We have not heard anything from the Biden administration in response to our request, Baker told reporters Tuesday at the State House. Im really disappointed by that.

Massachusetts has been contending with an influx of migrants thats straining the commonwealths emergency shelter capacity.

Baker filed a $139 million supplemental budget last month to bolster housing and case management resources for migrants, earmarking $73 million to add 1,300 temporary shelter beds and $37 million to help migrant children transition into local schools. For now, the spending bill remains lodged in the House Ways and Means Committee, even as Baker warns that immigration and housing woes will only worsen in the coming months.Read more: Gov.-elect Maura Healey starts naming top staff for new administration

Baker had also carved out $20 million within the supplemental budget to create a temporary central intake center. Despite a lack of legislative approval, the Baker administration is moving forward with that plan, culling from other money already available to transform the Bob Eisengrein Community Center in Devens into a space capable of accommodating up to 60 families or 125 individuals.

The center is still slated to open this month, but Baker on Tuesday was unaware of a firm date.

An administration official told MassLive earlier this month that some of the timeline uncertainty for the center, which is expected to stay open for at least four months, is due to ongoing site planning and permitting processes.Read more: Sen. Eric Lesser warns of East-West divide in Mass. in farewell speech

Were gonna cobble together whatever we need to cobble together to move forward and make sure that we get something set up there at Devens, Baker said. We think its important given that the borders not getting any better. Were going to continue to see this happen over the course of the winter, and we all know that when winter happens here, we have bigger issues than we have in warmer weather.

The intake center in Devens will include a temporary shelter space with sleeping cots, pillows, clean linens and towels. There will be portable shower units, space for three daily meals and recreation areas.

In a separate dedicated space, the Multi-Agency Resource Center will feature meeting rooms and computers. Housing and human service organizations will use these areas for case management and registration for applicable services, MassLive was told.

Other private spaces will allow individuals to receive health and mental health assessments, among other care needs.Read more: Mass. nearly done distributing 62F tax refunds to eligible taxpayers

We are talking families here, so from our point of view, this is something we really need to do, Baker said. We are a state that promises (the) right shelter the people under these circumstances while they wait for their asylum applications to get processed.

When Gov.-elect Maura Healey takes office next month, Baker said shell need to make a decision about filing a supplemental budget based on the first six months of tax revenue collected in the fiscal year. Should the Legislature not take action on Bakers supplemental budget proposal, the outgoing governor urged Healey to take the migrant housing issue seriously.

It will continue to be an issue for us. We have the resources to deal with it, Baker said. If nothing has happened, I would urge them to file something and move ahead.