Massachusetts governor’s southern border trip cost $6,800

Massachusetts governor’s southern border trip cost ,800

The Healey administration shelled out more than $6,800 to send a five-person team to the southern border in Texas to “educate” people of a shelter shortage here, according to her office. The trip was pitched as another attempt to curtail the number of migrants arriving in Massachusetts and make connections with federal immigration officials who … Read more

More no-bid contracts for Mass. emergency shelter system surface

More no-bid contracts for Mass. emergency shelter system surface

The state’s health and human services agency greenlighted at least four no-bid contracts and an agreement to rent shelter space at a Quincy college for more than $237,000 a month as the Healey administration attempted to respond to an influx of migrants over the past year, according to documents obtained by the Herald. Contracts between … Read more

John Deaton looks to ‘truly understand’ immigration in border visit

John Deaton looks to ‘truly understand’ immigration in border visit

John Deaton, a Republican U.S. Senate candidate, took a long flight south this week to visit the United States-Mexico border to “truly understand” the root causes of immigration issues that have sparked contentious debates in both Washington and Massachusetts. Planning for the trip to Yuma, Arizona came in the wake of Gov. Maura Healey’s decision … Read more

Monica Tibbits-Nutt wants to ‘move forward’

Monica Tibbits-Nutt wants to ‘move forward’

Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt just wants to “move forward” after remarks she made last month at an advocacy event generated bipartisan backlash and even a rare rebuke from her boss, Gov. Maura Healey. Tibbits-Nutt held onto her job after the speech, though she largely operated under the radar in the days after the comments became … Read more

Republicans pushing shelter requirements, again

Republicans pushing shelter requirements, again

A twice-failed push to limit who can access state-funded emergency shelters based on the amount of time they have been in Massachusetts will rise from the ashes again later this week when the House takes up its fiscal year 2025 budget proposal. The Republican-backed effort to require prospective shelter residents to have lived in the … Read more

Small group rallies at State House against shelter spending

Small group rallies at State House against shelter spending

A group of less than 15 protestors rallied outside the State House Wednesday in opposition to state spending on emergency shelters in Massachusetts that are housing both local residents and migrants from other countries. The small contingent held large signs in front on the steps of the State House reading “close the Healey hotels” and … Read more

Mass. Senate approves up to $840M for state-run shelters

Mass. Senate approves up to 0M for state-run shelters

Massachusetts senators voted Thursday to shuttle hundreds of millions of one-time use dollars to a state-run shelter system buckling under the weight of an influx of migrants from other countries and soaring costs that show little sign of slowing down. The spending bill that passed the Senate on a 32-8 vote inches Beacon Hill closer … Read more

Jim Jordan wants answers on Haitian accused of raping migrant

Jim Jordan wants answers on Haitian accused of raping migrant

U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican who heads up the powerful House Judiciary Committee, launched an inquiry Tuesday into a Haitian charged with allegedly raping a migrant girl at a Massachusetts shelter last week, according to a letter obtained by the Herald. Jordan and U.S. Rep. Tom McClintock, a California Republican, called on the … Read more

Man charged with raping migrant girl had two background checks

Man charged with raping migrant girl had two background checks

A man charged with allegedly raping a 15-year-old migrant girl at a Rockland shelter underwent two sex offender registry checks and entered the United States through a “federal program,” according to Gov. Maura Healey’s office. Cory Alvarez, 26, pleaded not guilty in Hingham District Court to one count of aggravated rape of a child and … Read more

The Mooch resurfaces, MassGOP infighting and the art of shooting

The Mooch resurfaces, MassGOP infighting and the art of shooting

Anthony Scaramucci, the 10-day White House communications director for former President Donald Trump, threw his weight behind John Deaton, a Republican running in Massachusetts to unseat Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Scaramucci said this week he would host a fundraiser for Deaton, though the event has not been scheduled, according to Deaton’s campaign manager, Michael Gorecki, who … Read more