The Yarmouth Resort in Yarmouth, Massachusetts. It is a hotel used to house migrants. Photo by Tom Joyce
The Massachusetts Republican Party is calling for full disclosure of the roughly $1 billion spent on the state’s migrant crisis, alleging that the expenditures have been veiled in secrecy by the Healey-Driscoll Administration.
The Massachusetts Republican Party formally submitted public records requests to several state offices Tuesday, including the Executive Office for Administration & Finance, the Governor’s Office, and the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, demanding detailed information on the spending and public safety incidents related to the state’s shelter system.
“The Healey-Driscoll Administration has shrouded nearly $1 billion dollars spent in secrecy, leaving Massachusetts residents in the dark,” Massachusetts Republican Party chairman Amy Carnevale said in a press release from the party. “They have withheld critical information on 600 incidents involving police, fire, and EMTs.”
The MassGOP claims that the administration has obstructed the flow of information to the public, blocking journalists at every turn. Carnevale’s public records request specifically demands the names of government and private entities providing emergency housing for migrants, the locations of these shelters, any related public safety concerns, and incident or police reports connected to the crisis.
Carnevale added, “The Massachusetts Republican Party is standing against the veil of secrecy and the obstructionist efforts of the Healey-Driscoll Administration and the Democratic supermajority. We stand with the Massachusetts press corps in declaring: enough is enough. The public deserves transparency. Release the details on the vendors profiting from this crisis and the public safety issues affecting our communities.”
State Senator Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester) has proposed an amendment (141) to the Massachusetts Senate’s fiscal year 2025 budget (S.2800) that would require all services for the emergency shelter system to be subject to competitive bidding and be posted on the state’s Open Checkbook portal. However, this amendment, aimed at ensuring accountability and efficiency, was blocked by the Democratic supermajority, according to Carnevale. Similar efforts by the House GOP caucus were also unsuccessful. The Democratic-controlled Massachusetts Senate rejected it on a voice vote.
Massachusetts has had a right-to-shelter law since 1983. The statute guarantees emergency assistance shelter at state government expense for families and pregnant women.
When the shelter system was first created, it primarily benefited people with special needs, as NewBostonPost previously reported. However, due to its lack of a residency requirement, migrants from all over the world (primarily Haiti) can come to Massachusetts and use the shelter system, receiving free long-term hotel and motel stays.
The Massachusetts Emergency Assistance Commission acknowledged in materials posted online that the state has appropriated $1.4 billion for emergency shelters and that the program will cost Bay State taxpayers more than $1 billion this fiscal year.
Karissa Hand, press secretary for the governor’s office, could not be reached for comment on Tuesday or Wednesday.
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The Yarmouth Resort in Yarmouth, Massachusetts. It is a hotel used to house migrants. Photo by Tom Joyce 
