Sanctuary governor blasted for program giving $30k in housing assistance to migrants amid shelter closures
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While she is shutting down her sanctuary state’s migrant shelters, critics are accusing Democratic Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey of simply shifting the costs over to a program that makes migrants eligible to receive at least $30,000 in housing assistance over two years.
The Boston Herald reported in June that the Healey administration had increased spending in Massachusetts’ HomeBASE program to $97 million in 2025, up from $9.5 million in 2022, according to state data.
The outlet reported that eligible families in the Massachusetts-run shelter system were being provided with $30,000 in rental assistance over two years. According to the Herald, the total caseload for HomeBASE increased under Healey from 1,473 in January 2023 to 7,767 in April 2025, more than a 400 percent increase. The outlet also said that some eligible families could qualify for an additional $15,000 in a third year of assistance but that state officials planned to pause third year assistance in July.
After that report, Massachusetts GOP Chair Amy Carnevale commented that the HomeBASE program amounted to being “shelters by another name.”
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As Massachusetts Democratic Governor Maura Healey closes down the sanctuary state’s migrant shelters, she is facing criticism for simultaneously shifting costs to dramatically increase spending on a program that detractors say makes immigrants eligible to receive $30,000 in housing assistance. (Photo by Jonathan Wiggs/The Boston Globe via Getty Images and Joseph Prezzioso/AFP via Getty Images)
“Taxpayers are giving migrant families nearly limitless free rental assistance. Meanwhile, federal action means these families won’t be receiving work permits anytime soon,” she went on, adding, “The migrant shelter crisis is not over, and cost-shifting is not leadership.”
This month, Healey announced the closure of all remaining hotel shelters in the Bay State amid the formal termination of her executive emergency focused on the state’s Biden-era migrant influx.
In a statement emailed to Fox News Digital, Carnevale said that “friends, favors, and failures continue to emerge even as she declares that the migrant crisis is over.”
“Healey should rip off the Band-Aid and tell the public whether these same oversights are occurring in the HomeBASE program,” she continued.
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A security guard patrols the emergency overflow shelter for migrants at the Melnea A. Cass Recreation Complex in Boston. (Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
“The abuse of taxpayer dollars, coupled with a stunning lack of oversight by Maura Healey and her administration, will define her legacy as governor.”
Meanwhile, Jon Fetherston, a former Massachusetts migrant shelter director who blew the whistle about rampant crime and abuse taking place in the system, commented that “instead of creating stability, HomeBase has become a revolving door of short-term rental assistance.”
He said that because migrants often spend the bulk of their $30,000 on upfront costs, many become unable to sustain their housing within months.
“The Healey Administration’s expansion of the HomeBASE program was sold to the public as a solution, one that would save money, reduce shelter dependence, and help migrant families become self-sufficient. But the reality is far different,” he explained. “HomeBASE is now a bloated, mismanaged program that’s failing both the taxpayers who fund it and the migrants it claims to help.”
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Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Gov. Maura Healey tour a Boston facility housing over 300 migrant families. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
“HomeBASE, in its current form, is a broken promise,” he said. “Taxpayers are footing a nearly $100 million bill with little transparency, no measurable outcomes and no end in sight. The promise of savings from closing hotel shelters is being quietly replaced with backdoor spending that still lacks accountability.
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“This isn’t a hand-up; it’s a setup for failure.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Healey’s office for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
Fox News Digital’s Charles Creitz contributed to this report.