Migrant crisis roils Boston area as school stands firm on Dukakis-era residency policy

A Boston-area school district decided against adjusting its residency policy for matriculating students after migrant advocacy groups demanded change, with an administrator saying claims made by the critics “are just not true.”

Public schools in the town of Saugus, 10 miles north of Boston, were recently challenged by two advocacy groups to change their policy as the influx of migrants into Massachusetts has roiled the state and its resources.

The Lawyers for Civil Rights and Massachusetts Advocates for Children sent a letter to school administrators in Saugus, alleging that the requirement to fill out the town census and other “overly-stringent residency or proof-of-identity requirements” violate the state and federal constitution.

The advocacy groups said the policy went into effect prior to the 2023-2024 school year and stipulated that pupils must be “legal residents whose actual residence is in Saugus” and that guardians must identify themselves with passports or other government photo IDs.

The policy had been implemented only days after Democrat Gov. Maura Healey instituted a state of emergency in response to the migrant influx.

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The Bay State is unique in its status as a “right-to-shelter” state, which guarantees families without homes will have shelter. 

And in the time since Healey called for a state of emergency, Saugus schools enrolled 23 students from the shelter system.

At a recent board meeting, however, school administrators said they won’t change their policy, with the body’s chair, Vincent Serino, saying in part that the news and “stories about migrants” are false, according to the Boston Herald.

Fox News Digital reached out to Serino and other administrators for comment but did not receive responses.

That has led to state-imposed shelter limits and calls for repeal of the Gov. Michael Dukakis-era law in response to claims the law is a major reason the crisis is so serious there.