Republicans are demanding answers after Massachusetts’ Democrat leadership has been caught “secretly” spending almost $1 billion in taxpayer money on caring for illegal aliens.
The state’s Republican Party, MassGOP, has submitted a formal request to the Massachusetts government for information on the alleged “$1 billion in secret migrant crisis spending.”
It comes as the Bay State continues to grapple with the flood of illegal aliens caused by the Biden-Harris administration’s border crisis.
In a press release from MassGOP, the group demanded that Democrat Gov. Maura Healey’s administration provide a detailed breakdown of how must the state’s residents are paying to care for illegal aliens.
In a statement, MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale said:
“The Healey-Driscoll Administration has shrouded nearly $1 billion spent in secrecy, leaving Massachusetts residents in the dark.
“They have withheld critical information on 600 incidents involving police, fire, and EMT.
“Blocking journalists at every turn, the administration has obstructed the flow of information to the public.”
In a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, Carnevale demanded the specifics of the state’s funding to provide housing for illegal border crossers.
In the FOIA request, Carnevale called for the Healey admin to provide the names of government and private entities that are providing emergency housing for migrants.
The request also demands information on where the emergency housing is located, any correspondence relating to public safety concerns, and any incident reports or police reports.
Carnevale argued that the state’s Democrat supermajority has created a “veil of secrecy” surrounding the migrant crisis.
“Today, the Massachusetts Republican Party is standing against the veil of secrecy and the obstructionist efforts of the Healey-Driscoll Administration and the Democratic supermajority,” she said.
“We stand with the Massachusetts press corps in declaring: enough is enough.
“The public deserves transparency,” she said.
“Release the details on the vendors profiting from this crisis and the public safety issues affecting our communities.
“On behalf of Massachusetts residents, we are demanding accountability.”
The MassGOP’s request comes after the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) released a report on July 24.
The report predicted that Massachusetts will struggle to manage the growing number of migrants coming to the state.
The state has already spent more than $1 billion on the Emergency Assistance (EA) sheltering program that houses migrants, the report noted.
In the report, Jessica Vaughan, CIS director of policy studies, wrote:
“The cost to Massachusetts taxpayers of temporary housing and shelters is enormous, but it pales in comparison to the costs that will accumulate in the future if those in the temporary shelters today remain in the Commonwealth for the long term.”
In addition to housing, some other costs taxpayers will have to cover include schooling, social services, medical care, and public safety.
The report estimated that the number of “illegal and inadmissible” migrants living in Massachusetts is about 355,000 with 50,000 “new arrivals” since 2021.
It also reported that 10,000 illegal aliens were minors with 8,500 being unaccompanied.
