Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey declared a state of emergency Tuesday, citing an inflow of migrants looking for shelter at a time when the price of housing — already briefly provide — continues to rise.

There are almost 5,600 households or greater than 20,000 individuals – a lot of whom are migrants — presently residing in state shelters, together with infants, younger youngsters and pregnant girls. That is up from round 3,100 households a 12 months in the past, about an 80% enhance, Healey mentioned.

Many of the migrants are arriving by aircraft from different states. In the previous 48 hours alone, she mentioned, 50 migrant households have landed within the state in want of shelter.

“It’s exponentially more than our state has ever served in our emergency assistance program,” she mentioned. “These numbers are being driven by a surge in new arrivals in our country who have been through some of the hardest journeys imaginable.”

The migrants arriving in Massachusetts are the face of the worldwide migrant disaster and are coming at a time when the state is already experiencing a housing crunch, Healey mentioned.

She known as on the federal authorities for monetary assist, and extra urgently, expedited work authorizations to permit the brand new arrivals to extra rapidly discover jobs and begin incomes a residing, she wrote in a letter to U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.

In the letter, Healey pointed to work authorizations as a major driver of the disaster. Currently, she mentioned, it will probably take weeks, months or greater than a 12 months to obtain the authorizations.

“Our new arrivals are most eager to work. The last thing they want is to be dependent,” she mentioned.

As a part of the emergency declaration, Healey mentioned she is renewing a name to native organizations that may help these looking for shelter in addition to to individuals involved in sponsoring a household of their residence.

The state has additionally launched a brand new migrant aid fund to assist increase cash to assist migrants.

The contributions will likely be used to assist pay for a variety of products and companies for migrants, together with meals, clothes, diapers and transportation in addition to well being screenings, translation companies, authorized help and English lessons.

As a right-to-shelter state, Massachusetts is legally required to offer eligible households shelter by way of its emergency help program.

Geralde Gabeau, government director of the Immigrant Family Services Institute, has labored with immigrants arriving from Haiti and mentioned they’re able to get to work.

“The new families coming to our communities are wonderful human beings,” she mentioned. “They are ready to work. They are ready to contribute to our economies.”

Healey and state lawmakers ought to rescind the state’s right-to-shelter coverage, mentioned Paul Diego Craney of the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, a conservative group.

“Perhaps it is time for the governor to take a trip to the southern border to see firsthand the open southern border crisis,” he mentioned in a press release.

More than 80 cities and cities throughout the state have already felt the influence of latest migrants and help the emergency declatarion, mentioned Geoff Beckwith, government director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association.

“Community leaders want state and federal agencies to step in to provide these families with the services and support they need to be safe and healthy,” he mentioned.

Other states have confronted challenges with hovering numbers of migrants.

On Monday, New York Mayor Eric Adams introduced a plan to deal with as many as 2,000 migrants on an island in the East River the place a migrant middle was arrange final 12 months after which taken down weeks later.

Some states led by Republicans — together with Texas and Florida — have bused or flown immigrants to states and cities led by Democrats, together with California, Massachusetts. New York and Chicago.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis final 12 months flew 49 Venezuelan migrants to the upscale Massachusetts enclave of Martha’s Vineyard.