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, 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Legislation limiting migrant and local families’ time in shelter drew fierce debate on Beacon Hill Wednesday, with Republicans arguing it did not address the root problem of migration issues in Massachusetts and Democrats pitching it as a necessity to keep shelter services sustainable. The proposal, which cleared the House on a 121-33 vote, caps migrant … Read more
