(WWLP) – While Governor Maura Healey and other state officials have approved a new supplemental budget to address the migrant crisis, not all lawmakers are in agreement.
State Senator John Velis voted against spending more money towards housing migrants, citing concerns about potential cuts to other important programs. These include early education, child care, and treatments for the opioid crisis.
He points out that these programs are already seeing reductions due to the high costs of housing migrants. In 2020, the state spent $150 million on this program and this year they have already spent over a billion dollars. Velis argues that this is an unsustainable solution and the state cannot afford it.
“My heart breaks right, I want to help everybody I can, but the reality is we just do not have the money to do that,” said Velis. “It’s going to impact and kill us financially and a lot of the programs we hold dear to our heart in Massachusetts if we don’t figure this out are going to go away.”
He adds, the state should limit how many people this program serves until they can get federal help. According to Velis, less than a million dollars has been given to the state by the federal government.