They want the state to limit eligibility for emergency housing to families who are citizens or lawful permanent residents.
Leaders in Quincy think the state should address the severe overburdening of the state’s emergency shelter system by barring migrant families from staying in the shelters.
The Quincy City Council approved a resolution by a 6-3 vote Monday night to ask state leaders to amend Massachusetts’ 1983 right-to-shelter law, which guarantees shelters to certain homeless families regardless of citizenship status.
The resolution asks the Massachusetts General Court to limit eligibility for emergency housing to families who are citizens or lawful permanent residents and have lived in Massachusetts for at least the previous six months.
Healey began capping the number of families in the overburdened system at 7,500 last year, a then-unprecedented limit on the “right-to-shelter” law. Lawmakers approved a nine-month stay maximum, which was half the length of a typical stay at the time, in March. In July, Healey announced the state would implement five-day stay limits at overflow sites.