Hotels cancel US Army football game bookings to accommodate migrants
The Army-Navy game, which pits teams from the military schools of the two services against one another, is set for December 9th at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.
According to CBS News, hotels in Massachusetts in the United States canceled bookings for veterans hoping to attend the Army-Navy football game in December in order to accommodate an influx of migrants.
The Army-Navy game, which pits teams from the military schools of the two services against one another, is set for December 9th at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.
According to the article, three hotels owned by Giri Hotel Management canceled their bookings in order to lease the rooms to the state of Massachusetts to lodge refugees.
The investigation details that the company's choice to renew the lease with the state impacted at least 70 of the agent's clients' reservations. Massachusetts has a "right to shelter" statute that guarantees accommodation to homeless families and pregnant women.
According to a Giri Hotel Management spokeswoman, the firm is collaborating with the government to lodge migrants as a show of solidarity and humanitarian duty.
Mark Mansbach, a New Jersey travel agent, received calls from clients stating their rooms were canceled.
According to Mansbach, he had "never had a hotel take room back and give me nothing. They sent out cancellations and walked away."
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey expressed concern that veterans' reservations may have been canceled and instructed the Office of Veteran Services to examine the incident.
Read more: Texas ordered to remove buoys blocking migrants' access to Rio Grande
Last month, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it would deploy around 800 additional military personnel to its southern border as part of a broader campaign to push back on migrants entering the country, DHS stated.
"This surge support includes up to 800 new active-duty personnel to assist with logistics and other functions at the border to allow more Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents and officers to return to their core mission and responsibilities," the Department of Homeland Security explained.
The troops will add on to 2,500 steady state National Guard personnel, 24,000 Customs and Border Protection agents and officers, more than 2,600 non-uniformed personnel, and 500 law enforcement and general support volunteers.
The ruling represents a serious setback for Texas Governor Greg Abbott who maintains that Biden has pursued an overly lenient approach to border security, especially considering the surging numbers of migrants apprehended after crossing the border in recent years.