The Democratic Mayor of a small Massachusetts City is calling on state legislators to reform the 40-year-old law “right to shelter” that is straining the area with thousands of new migrant families arriving.

Woburn Mayor Scott Galvin stated that by Friday, there were approximately 150 families who lived in the hotels of his city. He called this arrangement unsustainable for his constituents.

Massachusetts officials must provide housing for any homeless family seeking shelter within the state under the 1983 Right-to-Shelter Law. The law covers an increasing number of migrant family members, but not individuals.

Galvin told The New York Times that the law “was passed at a different period and wasn’t meant to cover the situation we are seeing now.”

He said: “We are going above and beyond while other communities are not affected, and our schools don’t have unlimited capacity.” “The state is a very desirable destination because of the benefits it offers migrants. Without some changes, however, this problem will not abate.”

Massachusetts is the only State that has a law on right to shelter.

Over 80 towns and cities in Massachusetts, including Woburn are welcoming migrants. However, they are becoming increasingly concerned about the lack of space and costs.

In the last week, there were 6,300 families living in hotels and emergency shelters across the state. This is an increase of about 50% from the previous year. The cost of such accommodation is also approximately $45,000,000 per month.

Woburn’s mayor has expressed concern one month after Massachusetts Governor Maura Shealey (D.) declared a state of emergency. On August 8, Healey requested federal assistance and declared a state-of-emergency. Healey, a few weeks later on August 31st, activated 250 members of the Massachusetts National Guard to help the over 6,000 migrants families in the state shelter system.

New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., as well as other Democrat-run city have taken similar measures to address their respective migrant crisis.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced on Saturday that agencies would need to reduce expenses. Some will face up to 15% cuts to help ease the financial strain caused by more than 100,000 illegal immigrants moving into the city. Adams warned last week that the migrant crises “will destroy New York City,” but he didn’t drop its sanctuary status.

National Review’s request for comment to Massachusetts state representative Richard Haggerty who represents Woburn, in the 30th Middlesex District did not receive a response.