BORDERTOWN USA — Massachusetts Republicans are accusing Democratic Gov. Maura Healey's administration of failing to address rampant violence and disorder at taxpayer-funded migrant shelters in the state. Republican lawmakers have cited information obtained through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests as evidence that physical and sexual assaults are rampant in shelters starting in 2022. Republican lawmakers argue that Gov. Healey failed to act until a high-profile case forced him to do so. .
A high-profile case cited by Massachusetts Republican Party officials in a recent press release occurred in late December when 28-year-old Dominican Leonardo Andujar Sánchez was arrested by police at a state-funded migrant shelter in Libya. It happened sometimes. According to the Libyan Police Department, Andujar was found in possession of an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, ammunition, rifle magazines and illegal fentanyl with an estimated street value of $1 million.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Enforcement Operations (ERO) officers took Mr. Andujar into immigration custody, where he faces criminal charges including possession of a firearm, being an alien, and unauthorized sale or possession of a firearm. Placed in government. Possession of an assault weapon and trafficking in more than 200 grams of heroin, morphine, opium or fentanyl, according to the . ICE press release. According to ICE, Andujar entered the United States illegally from an unknown location within the past year.
On Monday, in the face of mounting pressure, Governor Healey ordered inspections of all state-funded immigrant shelters following Andujar's arrest. The inspection order includes a review of the shelter's intake process to determine if additional measures are needed to reduce the likelihood of similar incidents in the future.
State Republican lawmakers argue that Gov. Healey's request for inspections and a review of procedures is too late, as criminal activity has been occurring at shelters for years and the governor and his administration have taken no action. There is. Massachusetts Republican Party Chairwoman Amy Carnevale criticized the call for inspections in a recent statement, saying, “What is happening in these immigrant shelters is worse than anyone could imagine, and it will continue to languish for years.” I can't stress enough that this continues to happen.”
Carnevale continued: “The Healy-Driscoll government has overseen a state-funded humanitarian crisis that is entirely funded by taxpayers, and now they are paying even more to maintain this broken system. They want the money. Inspections may reveal more horrors, but they won't solve the fundamental problem: Massachusetts' overly lenient right-to-refuge laws that attract immigrants and undocumented immigrants from all over the world.”
In August, ICE ERO officers arrested a Haitian suspect accused of raping a child at an immigrant shelter in Rockland, Massachusetts. In the case, Cory Bernard Alvarez, a 26-year-old immigrant who was in the country illegally, was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a minor at an immigrant shelter, according to ICE. According to ICE press releaseRockland Police Department arrested Alvarez in March on suspicion of aggravated rape of a child 10 years younger than him. ICE sent immigration agents to the Plymouth County Sheriff's Office to prevent Mr. Alvarez from being released into the community.
In June, Plymouth County Superior Court refused to honor ICE detainees and released Alvarez, who was being held on suspicion of aggravated rape of a child, on $500 bail. Two months later, ICE ERO officers located and arrested Alvarez in Brocton, Massachusetts.
a report The Fall River Reporter received a FOIA request from the Massachusetts Republican Party, according to an email sent by Logan Trupiano, the Massachusetts Republican Party's communications director. Revealed several incidents discovered by. The August 2024 incident involved a housekeeper's allegation of sexual harassment and physical contact in an elevator at the shelter, according to the Fall River Reporter.
A second report in August said a resident of the migrant shelter pulled out a knife and threatened facility staff. Another report describes the police response to a domestic violence incident at a migrant shelter in March that resulted in one victim being hospitalized.
randy clark He is a 32-year veteran of the U.S. Border Patrol. Prior to his retirement, he served as Division Chief of Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol stations within the Del Rio, Texas area. Follow him at X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.
