MassGOP Calls on Acting Governor Bill Galvin to Unveil Concealed Details of $1 Billion Migrant Crisis Spending and Associated Safety Concerns

Boston, MA - As the Healey-Driscoll Administration attends the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, the details surrounding taxpayer-funded spending on the migrant crisis remain deliberately concealed from the public.

Over the past two years, nearly 8,000 migrant families have been housed in facilities that are on track to cost taxpayers over $1 billion in FY 2024, yet the appropriation of this enormous sum remains shrouded in mystery.

The Healey-Driscoll Administration has kept vital information from the people of the Commonwealth, including the identities of the vendors involved and the amounts they are being paid. Investigative journalists have uncovered instances like a hotel in Methuen charging the state $165 per night, despite local health inspectors documenting 330 violations.

Records indicate that the providers managing these taxpayer-funded shelters have reported approximately 600 “serious incidents,” many requiring police, fire, or medical intervention. The details of these cases remain redacted. The only publicly known case involved an alleged rape of a minor, revealed not by the Administration but by the Rockland police department. Beyond that, the residents of the Commonwealth remain in the dark.

The lack of transparency is staggering, and the Healey-Driscoll Administration has refused to provide further information to the public. Given this refusal to disclose crucial details regarding spending and safety risks, the Massachusetts Republican Party calls on Secretary Bill Galvin, in his role as Acting Governor, to release the unredacted documentation concerning the expenditures on the emergency housing program and the safety incidents associated with the state shelter system. The public deserves nothing less.

Massachusetts Republican Party Chair Amy Carnevale released the following statement, “As Acting Governor, Secretary Galvin holds a rare and critical opportunity to do something the Healey-Driscoll Administration has refused: to inform the residents of the Commonwealth about the allocation of over $1 billion in taxpayer funds for the emergency shelter program. For nearly 30 years, Bill Galvin has served as Secretary of the Commonwealth in a bipartisan capacity. We now call upon him to exercise his authority as Acting Governor and disclose where these taxpayer dollars are being spent, identify the vendors receiving this funding, and provide transparency on the over 600 ‘serious incidents’ reported in taxpayer-funded shelters. It is his duty to ensure accountability and transparency in the use of public funds.”