Former Secretary of Housing and Economic Development warned incoming Governor Healey about potential crisis  

Lexington, MA – After mismanaging a humanitarian crisis that has led to over 1,000 serious incidents—including drug use, domestic violence, and rape—despite promising that all migrants would undergo criminal background checks; awarding no-bid contracts to campaign donors who served uncooked meals at inflated prices; and spending more than $700 million this year and nearly $3 billion overall in taxpayer dollars, Maura Healey today announced she will allegedly close the state’s remaining 32 hotel-based migrant shelters this summer.

“Maura Healey’s migrant shelters have showcased her failed policies and poor judgment, and today’s announcement is no different. Maura Healey routinely breaks her promises, so we’ll have to see if she keeps this one and actually closes the remaining hotels this summer. But even if she does, this crisis will persist—because Maura Healey’s solution is to transition migrants into taxpayer-subsidized apartments,” said Republican candidate for Governor Mike Kennealy. “In 2022, I warned then-Governor-Elect Maura Healey that failing to address the looming migrant crisis before it escalated would lead to large-scale problems. Unsurprisingly, Maura Healey thought she knew better. This crisis—and its cost to the state’s taxpayers—could have been avoided if Healey had listened and led.”

Kennealy is committed to signing legislation to establish residency requirements for the state’s right-to-shelter system, restoring the law’s original intent to serve Massachusetts families. Additionally, Kennealy will increase transparency about the crisis’ true cost, including programs like HomeBASE, which offers $2,500 to families living in migrant shelters to buy furniture.

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