Mass. ban on 'de facto' shelter at Logan Airport begins Tuesday night

A new prohibition on homeless and migrant families sleeping at Logan International Airport goes into effect Tuesday night.

Dozens of families have lined airport floors for months, following a capacity crunch in the state's shelter system and an increase in new immigrants coming to Massachusetts. Many of the families fled violence and economic instability in Haiti, often embarking on years-long journeys before arriving in the state.

Last year, Gov. Maura Healey capped the state's emergency shelter system citing space and cost constraints. Now the state is trying to end what's been described as a "de facto shelter."

"The airport is not an appropriate place for people to seek shelter,” Emergency Assistance Director Scott Rice said in a statement announcing the policy last month.

A Healey administration spokesperson this week said teams have been helping families move from Logan to a new overflow shelter in Norfolk. They said 56 people slept at the airport Sunday night, down from 288 two weeks ago.

But advocates worry about where the remaining families will go, and what will happen to people who leave Logan without an alternative place to stay. The emergency shelter system is now limited to 7,500 families, and beds at overflow sites aren't always immediately available.

"Logan has been a place of last resort for families, so [let's] make sure that we're not closing off those avenues before the other resources are really brought to scale," Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless Associate Director Kelly Turley said in an interview.

The state manages a waitlist for families seeking to enter the shelter system and has taken steps to free up more units, including limiting lengths of stay. Some advocates said the state needs a better long-term plan to address family homelessness and assist newly arriving immigrants.

Healey has not said how the ban on sleeping at Logan will be enforced — only that state police and social workers will be at Logan to direct families elsewhere.

The Massachusetts Port Authority, which operates Logan, said its staff will help identify and communicate with migrants as they arrive at the airport.

"The state will also have staff on site at Logan to work with families to inform them of this new policy and their options, including helping them secure transportation to another location where they have family or another option for a safe place to stay," Massport Director of Media Relations Jennifer Mehigan said in a statement.

Healey recently sent several high-level state officials on a trip to the southern border with Mexico.

Their message to migrants, she said, was "do not come to Massachusetts if you expect housing."