In the already charged atmosphere of Massachusetts, a full two months prior to the parade of Cadets and Midshipmen making their way into Gillette Stadium for the annual Army-Navy game, a much larger battle is on the horizon. However, this is no ordinary football match. Instead, it is centered around the state’s right-to-shelter law, a forty-year-old mandate providing families with children guaranteed lodgings if they meet specific criteria.
This legal showdown is set against the backdrop of the vintage Army-Navy rivalry, one that has been a sports institution since 1890. This year, the clash of service academies is set to occur in New England on the 9th of December. The event dovetails with an increasingly pressing issue – an upsurge in migrants in Massachusetts, a state unique in having a right-to-shelter law.
Tensions have escalated as a New Jersey travel agency, Hillside Travel, reported that 60 reservations for game attendees, most of whom are military personnel and their families, were abruptly canceled. The reason? A pressing need to accommodate the newcomers. Giri Hotel Management, with 45 different properties in New England, announced the cancellations, stating that providing a safe haven for those forced to displace from their homes was a privilege.
However, the cancellation has drawn the attention of the state’s Democratic Governor, Maura Healey. Dismayed by the rising numbers of migrants, Healey declared a state of emergency in August and clarified that the hotel cancellations were done unilaterally. For the Army-Navy game attendees left in the lurch, the Executive Office of Veterans’ Services will step in to find them alternative lodging.
The influx is cause for concern, with up to 1,000 families seeking shelter in the state every month. The surge has been tied to an increase in border crossings, with the US-Mexico border seeing over 200,000 illegal crossings in September alone, marking the highest total of the year.
Republican state Rep. Peter Durant deems this outdated right-to-shelter law the root of the issue and proposes amendment. This includes providing shelter to families who have been legal Massachusetts residents for three or higher years. Reflecting on the reservation cancellations for the Army-Navy game, Durant pushes for legislation obliging hotels to uphold reservations.
Yet there is another side to the story. Jeffrey Berry, a political science professor at Tufts University, explains that the inconvenience caused by the hotel room cancellations during the Army-Navy game has brought newfound attention to the migrant issue. Berry reiterates that Massachusetts has plenty of hotels and other rooms can be sourced.
Drawing a parallel with a tradition held dear by Massachusetts, the leaf peeping season also brings a surge of tourists, and yet, the state proudly manages every year. Commenting on this situation, Berry said that while there is no fury over migrants, there’s a certain umbrage taken at how veterans were treated by the hotels.
