Migrants show up at Logan for shelter, prompting fresh calls for state to change policies

About a dozen migrants tried to stay the night at Logan International Airport on Monday, but left after a cleaning crew discovered them, according to Massport.

Advocates for families seeking shelter in the state say the migrants’ plight and limited options underscore a major problem with how strict the Healey administration’s temporary shelter policies are for vulnerable families.

Jeffery Thielman, CEO and president of the nonprofit International Institute of New England, said his group is calling on the state to end its recent policy shift that limits stays at overflow shelter sites to five days while simultaneously forcing families to wait six months before they can be eligible for long-term emergency shelter support.

“I think we have to relax the rules at the temporary respite care centers, and we have to allow people to spend some time there and not be penalized from entering the emergency shelter system,” he said.

The Healey administration announced the controversial shelter stay limits in early August, just weeks after banning migrants from sleeping at the airport. Many newly arrived families — sometimes more than 100 people a night — had been sheltering at Logan over the past year.

In a statement to WBUR, a Massport spokesperson said, until Monday, employees had not seen any migrant families trying to stay overnight since the ban went into effect.

It’s unclear where the migrants went after they left Logan, and Massport did not offer further comment.

Thielman said that beyond easing rules at temporary shelters, the state needs to create pathways for more permanent living situations in Massachusetts.

“While they’re in the temporary respite care centers, we have to work very hard to try to find them alternative housing,” he said.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.