Boston Medical Center Bans Migrants From Sheltering In Lobby

BOSTON, MA — Boston Medical Center administrators have issued a policy barring migrant families from sheltering in its emergency department, The Boston Globe reported. The policy was implemented last week and directs employees to send migrants to a state-run welcome center or homeless shelter during business hours.

If migrants arrive after hours at the hospital, which serves many of the state's neediest patients, employees are then directed to order them an Uber and send them to the home of a family member, a church, or to wherever they stayed the previous night. In some cases, families have been sent to Logan International Airport, according to The Boston Globe.

The controversial new policy comes as an influx of migrants is straining resources. Workers told The Globe that more than 100 migrants recently arrived at Boston Medical Center.

In May, a large influx of Haitian migrants arrived in the city, with some seeking shelter at the hospital, Boston 25 reported. A Boston Medical Center spokesperson said at the time that due to a lack of available housing, five families stayed in the hospital's lobby one night.

The executive director of Immigrant Family Services Institute said at the time they didn’t have the resources to find housing for these migrants.

Boston Medical Center's new policy has drawn ire from hospital employees, some of whom protested recently in Boston Common. Massachusetts is a right-to-shelter state, meaning that the state must provide shelter for homeless families, a standard protesters said the government is not meeting.

See related: State Places 16 Homeless Families In Shrewsbury Hotel