BOSTON—In the continued debate over ways to deal with the flow of illegal immigrants into Massachusetts, the state’s Democrat-dominated Senate passed a bill late on Thursday that sets a nine-month cap on shelter stays. However, some Republicans say the measure is meaningless since it includes several provisions to bypass the cap.
“This is just a feel-good bill that, with the number of loopholes built into it, in reality does absolutely nothing to limit the time migrants stay at shelters,” Republican Sen. Peter Durant told The Epoch Times.
Ahead of the bill’s approval, Mr. Durant and other Republicans introduced several amendments to eliminate some of the loopholes, all of which were swiftly rejected by Democrats. The bill calls for the elimination of a general exemption from the nine-month cap for a “documented medical condition.”
“That could be anything,” said Mr. Duran.
Another exemption he sees as way too open ended is waiving the cap for noncitizens who “show progress” in finding a job. “What does that mean—I filled out an application?” he said.
Democrats even rejected a proposed Amendment by Republican Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr to discontinue benefits to illegal immigrants found to have been previously convicted of a felony.
An amendment introduced by Democrats calling for shelters in Massachusetts to be placed in “geographically diverse” areas of the state was also shot down, as was a call to hold community meetings before setting up a shelter for illegal immigrants in a neighborhood.
Democratic Sen. Michael Moore, who introduced the amendment, cited the recent controversy that ensued when Gov. Maura Healey, also a Democrat, announced without notice to the community that her administration was repurposing a state-owned building that housed a popular recreation center in Boston’s historic black neighborhood of Roxbury into a shelter for illegal immigrants.
The Senate did pass an amendment to come up with a safety and security plan at state-funded shelters.
While the incident wasn’t discussed, the amendment follows a rape of a 15-year-old girl allegedly by an illegal immigrant being housed by the state at a Massachusetts hotel.
A day later, Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Chairman of the Judiciary Committee and Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) Chairman of the Subcommittee, initiated a federal investigation into 26-year-old Cory Alvarez, the illegal immigrant alleged to have raped the girl.
Ms. Healey has cited the state’s right-to-shelter law as the reason Massachusetts is so inundated with illegal immigrants. Republicans have argued that the law, passed in 1973, was intended for U.S. citizens only.
Republicans including both Mr. Tarr and Mr. Durant have called for adding a citizenship clause to the half-century-old law, but concrete action on that so far has been stymied by a lack of support from Democrats.
Ms. Healey has never addressed the proposal, but has repeatedly stated publicly that the more than 7,500 illegal immigrants being housed by the state in Massachusetts are living “legally” in the state.
The nine-month cap was approved by the Senate as part of a spending bill that hands Ms. Healey another $25 million in taxpayer dollars to the already $277 million her administration has spent on providing housing, food, medical care, and other supplies to these illegal immigrants in just the past year.
The bill also will allow Ms. Healey to tap into the state’s $825 million escrow fund to pay for additional emergency shelter for them.
Some Democrats called the amount of money being spent on illegal immigrants in Massachusetts “unsustainable,” but then voted in favor of the bill.
“We all know it’s unsustainable,” said Democratic state Sen. Rebecca Rausch, who was among the 32 who voted in its favor.
Of the eight who voted against it, four of them were Democrats who crossed party lines to do so.
The passage of the bill in Massachusetts comes as lawmakers in neighboring New Hampshire advance bills that outlaw any state or municipal agencies to adopt sanctuary policies and interfere with enforcement of immigration laws. New Hampshire Republicans have also advanced a bill that would deem any driver’s licenses issued to noncitizens invalid in the state.
During the floor debate on the Massachusetts migrant shelter bill, both Republicans and Democrats blamed federal lawmakers for the high number of illegal immigrants pouring into the state.
Democratic Sen. John Velis took aim at Republicans for recently rejecting a Senate bipartisan border bill that its proponents said would expedite the processing of work permits for illegal immigrants and better identify those who should be deported.
“They left us with a bill, they left us to fend for ourselves,” said Mr. Velis. “I think it’s an absolute disgrace—an absolute disgrace, the relinquishing of their authority and watching their partners in government struggle with this and seeing the impact it’s having on this Commonwealth and multiple other jurisdictions throughout the country.”
Mr. Tarr said that the Healey administration has already missed a major chance to curb the illegal immigrant population by exceeding the state’s own 7,500-capacity cap on the number of them it would house.
He proposed the state should at the very least stop paying resettlement agencies to provide services to illegals beyond the state’s capacity.
“You know there’s a caption that’s often cited in politics, which is, ‘When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging,’” said Mr. Tarr.
Approval of the Senate bill follows House approval of a similar bill earlier this month.
Both bills were amended to include automatic shelter extensions for migrants who are pregnant, the postpartum period after giving birth and anyone deemed to have a disability.
“These people, if you’ve watched the news you see what’s going on in Haiti, they’re fleeing desperate situations, and they come here seeking to make a better life for their family,” she said.
