Massachusetts Kills Plan to Prioritize Homeless Veterans Over Migrants

All but two Massachusetts House Democrats voted against an amendment to provide statewide shelter priority to U.S. military veterans over migrants.

On Friday, all 25 Massachusetts state House Republicans were joined by two others across the aisle in voting for Amendment 698 as part of House Bill 4600. The amendment introduced by Republican Minority Leader Bradley Jones, titled "Homeless Veterans Prioritization for Shelter Assistance," failed on a 27-129 roll call vote.

"It's extremely disappointing that most Democrats were unwilling to support an amendment to prioritize eligibility for the state's emergency housing assistance program for honorably discharged homeless veterans," Jones told Newsweek via email on Monday.

The vote occurred one day after a supplemental budget was sent to Democratic Gov. Maura Healey, who in October said that her state lacks the space, services and funding to safely expand beyond providing shelter for 7,500 families—of which that quota was nearly reached prior to Halloween amid a migrant surge to the Bay State. Massachusetts is spending about $75 million each month on state-run shelters, according to The Boston Globe, after Healey declared a state of emergency last summer.

Democratic state Rep. Gerard Cassidy, co-chair of the Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs, reportedly said that a veterans-related bill is being prepared for May and will address programs and benefits extension.

"This is not a veterans' bill," Cassidy said, according to State House News Service (SHNS). "This is basically a political ploy to bring the veterans in. This bill that will be coming out is more in tune to what we're doing."

Newsweek reached out to Cassidy via email for comment.

Jones dismissed Cassidy's characterization of his amendment as a "political ploy," saying instead that it is "a recognition of the debt we all owe to our nation's veterans and consistent with the many other veterans preferences that exist in our current laws."

"No individual who has served their country with valor and dedication should ever be forced to sleep on the street with their family," he said. "At a time when our emergency shelter system is being stretched beyond capacity and has a growing waitlist for services, we need to set clear priorities to better manage the demand and eliminate the waitlist.

"Ensuring the well-being of homeless veterans, who have sacrificed so much for our country and our Commonwealth, is not just a responsible policy decision; it's a moral imperative."

The bill Cassidy alluded to will hopefully garner a better reception by Democrats, Jones added.

A spokesperson for Democratic state House Speaker Ron Mariano told Newsweek via email on Monday that it's important to clarify that the Emergency Assistance (EA) program that was the focus of that amendment is a housing program serving families and pregnant women.

In the bill, the House included considerations within a family unit—such as additional stay time in the EA program for "veterans not enrolled in services tailored to veterans."

"Massachusetts has many specific programs for veterans, which is what Representative Cassidy was arguing with his floor remarks," the spokesperson said. "Additionally, the Veterans Committee is working on a bill that they will release later this legislative session that will better support veterans in Massachusetts."

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, whose state has been at the forefront of the illegal immigration battle, chimed in on the Massachusetts Democrats' votes.

"This is insanity," Abbott wrote on X. "It must end. Illegal immigrants should not be prioritized over our veterans who served our country."

House Democrats also shunned Republican attempts to add policy language creating a three-month residency requirement for the state's family shelters that would have prioritized Massachusetts residents presently on a waitlist.

"I ask that the members consider this amendment so that a family that does need to get emergency shelter can get it, which would not have been a problem a year or so ago, especially those who've been here for a long period of time," said Republican state Rep. Paul Frost, who introduced the amendment, according to SHNS.

"We should give priority to those who have been here longer and longtime residents of Massachusetts, versus a family that just arrived and has been here for an hour. And I think that's a fair and reasonable thing to do."

Democratic Assistant state House Majority Leader Alice Peisch reportedly said that no families, whether longtime Massachusetts residents or new migrants, "are being put out on the street."

"We do have these overflow shelters," Peisch said. "I don't want anyone to be operating under the assumption that we have Massachusetts residents who are being left out on the street, so once again, I ask you please for the fourth time to reject the residency requirement."

Healey said in March on Boston Public Radio that migrant families compose approximately 45 percent of the families in the state's emergency shelter system—which she added are "at capacity" and unsustainable into the future.

That same month, the State Senate passed a bill approving over $825 million in a state escrow account to be released over the next two years, including capping shelter stays at nine months while allowing additional 90-day stays for veterans, pregnant women and people who are employed or enrolled in a job training program.

Eight resettlement agencies agreed to more than $10.5 million worth of contracts with the state to move 400 migrant families out of state-run shelters and into stable housing by the end of the year, according to The Globe.

The State House voted 153-4 on Friday to pass a $58 billion fiscal 2025 budget that invests in K-12 education, childcare and public transit.

Mariano, who praised the budget deal, said about a month ago that the migrant shelter situation needs some sort of financial remedy due to rising costs anticipated to cost the state $932 million this fiscal year and $915 million in the next one.

"Every program that we fund is susceptible to being tapped to fund the shelter program," Mariano said, according to the Boston Herald. "Not in this budget but in the next because there will be no help coming. There's no help coming. The federal government can't get its act together. They couldn't even agree on a vote to shut down the border."