Haitian immigrants Petterly Jean-Baptiste, left, and his wife Leonne Ysnardin, right, ride aboard a van, in Boston, as they are transported with their children to a shelter in Quincy, Mass., Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. Across the region, advocates relied on a patchwork of temporary shelters including churches, hospital waiting rooms and even airport lounges after Massachusetts' emergency shelter system hit a state-imposed limit of 7,500 families last week. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)Petterly Jean-Baptiste, left, holds a child as he and his wife Leonne Ysnardin, right, both immigrants from Haiti, load into a van in Boston, along with other immigrant families while waiting for transportation to a shelter in Quincy, Mass., Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. Across the region, advocates relied on a patchwork of temporary shelters including churches, hospital waiting rooms and even airport lounges after Massachusetts' emergency shelter system hit a state-imposed limit of 7,500 families last week. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)Peterson Jean-Baptiste, 3, front left, his father Petterly Jean-Baptiste, right, and his mother Leonne Ysnardin, behind center, all immigrants from Haiti, wait Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, at the Immigrant Family Services Institute, in the Mattapan neighborhood of Boston, for transportation to a shelter, in Quincy, Mass. Across the region, advocates relied on a patchwork of temporary shelters including churches, hospital waiting rooms and even airport lounges after Massachusetts' emergency shelter system hit a state-imposed limit of 7,500 families last week. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)Petterly Jean-Baptiste, right, and his wife Leonne Ysnardin, behind center, both immigrants from Haiti, wait with their two children, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, at the Immigrant Family Services Institute, in the Mattapan neighborhood of Boston, for transportation to a shelter, in Quincy, Mass. Across the region, advocates relied on a patchwork of temporary shelters including churches, hospital waiting rooms and even airport lounges after Massachusetts' emergency shelter system hit a state-imposed limit of 7,500 families last week. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)Petterly Jean-Baptiste, center, an immigrant from Haiti, registers Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, with the Immigrant Family Services Institute, in Boston, while waiting with his family for transportation to a shelter, in Quincy, Mass. Across the region, advocates relied on a patchwork of temporary shelters including churches, hospital waiting rooms and even airport lounges after Massachusetts' emergency shelter system hit a state-imposed limit of 7,500 families last week. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)Haitian immigrant Rose Juliane, center, holds her daughter Rosie Sarah, as she speaks with Immigrant Family Services Institute Executive Director Geralde Gabeau, left, while waiting at the agency in the Mattapan neighborhood of Boston for transportation to a shelter, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. Across the region, advocates relied on a patchwork of temporary shelters including churches, hospital waiting rooms and even airport lounges after Massachusetts' emergency shelter system hit a state-imposed limit of 7,500 families last week. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)Leonne Ysnardin, center, and her husband Petterly Jean-Baptiste, right, both immigrants from Haiti, speak with a van driver, left, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, at the Immigrant Family Services Institute, in the Mattapan neighborhood of Boston, moments before being transported to a shelter, in Quincy, Mass. Across the region, advocates relied on a patchwork of temporary shelters including churches, hospital waiting rooms and even airport lounges after Massachusetts' emergency shelter system hit a state-imposed limit of 7,500 families last week. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)Peterson Jean-Baptiste, 3, right, reaches to open a door to a van as his mother Leonne Ysnardin, left, looks on, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, outside the Immigrant Family Services Institute, in the Mattapan neighborhood of Boston. The family, all immigrants from Haiti, received transportation to a shelter in Quincy, Mass., Thursday. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)Haitian immigrants step out of a van as they arrive at a shelter, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, in Quincy, Mass., after receiving transportation from the Immigrant Family Services Institute, in the Mattapan neighborhood, of Boston. Across the region, advocates relied on a patchwork of temporary shelters including churches, hospital waiting rooms and even airport lounges after Massachusetts' emergency shelter system hit a state-imposed limit of 7,500 families last week. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Haitian immigrants Petterly Jean-Baptiste, left, and his wife Leonne Ysnardin, right, ride aboard a van, in Boston, as they are transported with their children to a shelter in Quincy, Mass., Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. Across the region, advocates relied on a patchwork of temporary shelters including churches, hospital waiting rooms and even airport lounges after Massachusetts' emergency shelter system hit a state-imposed limit of 7,500 families last week. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
BOSTON – About 20 to 25 migrants are arriving daily at Boston's Logan Airport, the head of the airport operator said Friday, with some seen camping out temporarily in baggage claim and elsewhere before trying to find a spot in the state's overburdened shelter system.
But Massport interim CEO Ed Freni told reporters that the airport is “not an appropriate place” for migrants to stay, even as some were seen sleeping at the facility as the state grapples with the shelter crisis.
Recommended Videos
“When they come to Logan we meet them and we try to assist them, but we have to emphasize that Logan is not an appropriate place to house people,” Freni told reporters. The airport works with partners to transport the migrants to welcome centers and is looking to “other solutions in the future," Freni said.
Massachusetts’ emergency shelter system hit a state-imposed limit of 7,500 families last week, and migrant advocates are relying on a patchwork of temporary shelters, including churches, hospital waiting rooms and even airport lounges. Because the shelter system is full, some homeless people have had to be put on a waiting list.
A new work authorization clinic is serving several hundred shelter residents per day. The clinic at Camp Curtis Guild, a Massachusetts National Guard training site in Reading, helps migrants obtain work authorization in the hopes of easing the strain on shelters.
State lawmakers who failed to approve a supplemental budget embarked for the Thanksgiving break with no plans to formally convene again for votes until the new year.
Lawmakers could approve additional spending in informal sessions before year's end, but legislative rules make it easier to derail bills during informal sessions.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
