Last Week, Pressley, Colleagues Sought $50M in Federal Assistance for Migrant Families

WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) issued the following statement on the arrival of migrants in Massachusetts:

“Many of the families arriving in Massachusetts have fled unspeakable violence in their home countries and endured a harrowing journey to America, and they deserve to be met with compassion, not cruelty. That anyone would seek to use vulnerable people in a political stunt for political gain is callous and shameful.

“My team and I have been in close communication with our delegation partners, local officials, and community organizations in Massachusetts working to support arriving families, including the hospitals in the Massachusetts’ 7^th where migrant families have been seeking services over the course of the past few months. We have also been in touch with the White House and Congressional appropriators about the need for additional FEMA funding to help these families meet their most basic needs.

“This is about people. This is about their humanity and their fundamental right to survive and be treated with dignity and respect. I’m proud of the Massachusetts community for responding with compassion, from the grandmothers who have housed asylum seekers to the local nurses that provide much-needed care. And I’m committed to advocating for the necessary resources for these families.”

Last week, Rep. Pressley, along with Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Congressman Jesús G. “Chuy” García (D-IL), and Congressman Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), sent a letter with 19 colleagues to the House Appropriations Committee requesting that the upcoming fiscal year 2023 continuing resolution provide an additional $50 million above the enacted fiscal year 2022  level to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Emergency Food and Shelter Program for humanitarian assistance to migrants.

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