Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey is pulling off what might be the most expensive game of three card monte in New England history. She is closing down migrant shelters with one hand while apparently shuffling the costs over to a housing assistance program with the other, and critics are not amused.
As The American Tribune reported, Healey's administration has overseen a jaw dropping increase in spending on the state's HomeBASE program, which went from $9.5 million in 2022 to $97 million in 2025. For those keeping score at home, that is not a typo. The program offers families eligible for the state shelter system up to $30,000 in rental assistance over two years. According to the Boston Herald, some families could even qualify for an additional $15,000 in a third year, though state officials were planning to pause that extra year in July.
The caseload tells its own story. It went from 1,473 in January 2023 to 7,767 in April 2025, which is over a 400% increase. So the shelters are closing, but the tab is very much still open.
Massachusetts Republican Party chair Amy Carnevale called the HomeBASE program "shelters by another name" and did not mince words. "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 said. "The migrant shelter crisis is not over, and cost-shifting is not leadership."
Healey's team fired back. According to Fox News, a spokesperson for the governor said claims that illegal aliens are benefiting from the program are "completely false," noting that "Every family must have legal status and prove Massachusetts residency to be in the HomeBASE program. Governor Healey is the first Governor to require that." The spokesperson also pointed out that HomeBASE has been around for over a decade, including under a prior Republican administration, and that Healey actually added stricter eligibility requirements.
That defense did not satisfy everyone. Carnevale responded by saying "friends, favors, and failures continue to emerge" and called on Healey to "rip off the Band-Aid" about potential oversight issues in the program. She added that "the abuse of taxpayer dollars, coupled with a stunning lack of oversight by Maura Healey and her administration, will define her legacy as governor."
Republican gubernatorial hopeful Mike Kennealy piled on via Facebook, noting the state has already funneled $5 million to help illegal immigrants avoid deportation and is now looking to divert millionaire's tax funds to illegal immigrant legal defense. "Wasn't the surtax money supposed to be exclusively used for education and transportation?" he wrote.
So to recap: the shelters are closing, the program is ballooning, the spending is skyrocketing, and everyone is pointing fingers. Just another day in Massachusetts politics, where fiscal responsibility goes to die with a $30,000 housing voucher in its pocket.
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