By Alison Kuznitz
State House News Service

Investigators in Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s office discovered nearly $2.9 million worth of public benefits fraud from October through December, with the vast majority of money linked to MassHealth.

The Bureau of Special Investigations detected fraud in 96 out of the 1,451 cases it examined in the second quarter of fiscal year 2024, according to a report recently filed with the Legislature.

Investigators found $2,083,270.85 in MassHealth fraud; $692,581.50 in SNAP fraud; $74,195.05 in fraud tied to the Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children program; $7,909.33 in fraud connected to the Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled, and Children program; and $796.95 in fraud linked to the Personal Care Attendant Program.

The bureau also recovered $228,185.97 through restitution settlements, DiZoglio’s office said.

“The work of BSI fraud examiners ensures taxpayer dollars used to fund Massachusetts’ public benefits programs are managed effectively so that programs are available to residents who truly need them,” the report stated. “As a result of BSI’s investigations, public assistance fraud cases are referred to agencies for administrative action, fraudulent overpayments are recovered through civil agreements, individuals are disqualified from programs for specified periods of time, and cases are prosecuted in state and federal courts.”

In fiscal year 2023, investigators identified more than $12.3 million in public benefits fraud.

The following is an opinion sent to New Bedford Guide. It does not reflect the opinion of New Bedford Guide, nor is it an OP-ED. In fairness and objectivity, we share opinions from our readers whether we agree or disagree with their opinion.

Do you have a counter opinion to this opinion? Have an opinion about something else? Email us at info@newbedfordguide.com.

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The following is a response to Betty Ussach’s Opinion piece, entitles, “It’s distressing that people support Netanyahu, Trump’s narcissistic, destructive agendas”.

“The constant blaming of everything wrong is Trump’s fault, known as Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS), is living in a certain author’s gray matter permanently now. Hamas attacking Israel and Israel’s response is somehow interconnected to Trump. Can’t make this up! Trump had every right to exercise all legal options to the bogus charges, many under novel legal theories. We still have due process!

Facebook photo.

But you wouldn’t know that if you only watch TDS news stations which most are. Bibi had every right to defend his country and ensure the enemy is completely defeated, never to be attacked again in an ambush of innocent civilians. Rapes, beheadings and torture are all acceptable to the author, just be compassionate in your response. Shameful! Hamas has taken billions of dollars and used it for war purposes, building tunnels under hospitals and buying weapons all with the intent on destroying Israel, with the support of the Palestinian people.

There isn’t much room for compassion when the enemy butchers your citizens in an unprovoked act of war. The founding principles of any nation are to ensure the safety and sovereignty of its citizens and country. Principles obviously devoid as expressed in the opinion piece. Again, somehow Trump is lumped in with the war as losing international respect for each nation.

What Trump supposedly has to do with the Israel/Hamas conflict is further proof of TDS. Conversely, while Trump was President, the world was at peace, initiated the Abraham Accords and brought great economic improvement to all economies and demographics. Facts not acknowledge by those suffering TDS.

Facebook photo.

The most delusional statement of all is believing the American new media is the most accurate! Now that’s one hallucination! It has been proven over and over that most “main stream” news media, that the author watches, has been proven to lie, misstate, take out of context and distort the truth to continue the hatred of DT.

Russia Gate-False, Laptop-Real, FISA Abuse-True, Hillary falsely started Russia to deflect from her email scandal-True, the list goes on and on, but you wouldn’t know it if you watched Fake News. Hence the continued TDS living in many people’s gray matter.

Lastly, when did it become a “destructive agenda” to put America and Americans first and bring back jobs moved overseas due to cheap labor and little or no environmental regulations to ensure the well being of our citizen’s first? Patriotism is not a destructive agenda! Unfortunately the hatred made people vote personality over policy.

The Fake News did their job, Orange Man Bad! Look what we have now; world wars, inflation, open borders with known terrorists already here, rampant gang crime and soaring energy costs that nobody can afford. The tide is turning and when DJ becomes 47 I hope those suffering from TDS, get help and be prepared for more world peace and God blessing America again.”-Nelson Strebor.

Delegation from U.S. Conference of Mayors met with Israeli and Palestinian officials on trip sponsored by Project Interchange.

“NEW BEDFORD – Mayor Jon Mitchell chaired a group of U.S. Mayors on a trip to Israel earlier this week on behalf of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the leading organization representing American cities. Mayor Mitchell is a member of USCM’s Board of Trustees.

The delegation spent four days in Israel meeting with municipal leaders, academics, business leaders, and experts from both Israel and Palestine. They also held discussions with released hostages and their families, and others coordinating humanitarian aid in the region. Site visits included Tel-Aviv, Jerusalem, and the city of Sderot on the border with Gaza. In the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the terror group Hamas, 70 civilians, including 20 police officers, were murdered in Sderot.

Mayor Mitchell was back at City Hall on Friday.

“Although this is the USCM’s fourth mayoral delegation to Israel, the issues in the region today are more relevant than ever to Americans,” Mayor Mitchell said. “The current conflict is widening the political fault lines in our country, and I believe that it is important for mayors, as the leaders of their cities, to take opportunities like this to deepen their understanding of a situation that, as everyone can agree, is complicated and difficult.”

The trip was sponsored by a joint program between the USCM and the American Jewish Committee’s Project Interchange, which facilitates exchanges between Israeli, Palestinian, European, and American officials. The mission of the program is to enhance Americans’ understanding of the region’s politics by exposing mayors to diverse perspectives and promoting new and mutually beneficial relationships with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. This is the program’s fourth mayoral delegation to Israel, which was funded entirely by the program.

Participants included Mayor Daniel Rickman of Columbia, South Carolina, Mayor Travis Stovall of Gresham, Oregon, and officials from the USCM and AJC. Based on security considerations, the USCM requested that members of the delegation refrain from announcing the trip beforehand or releasing details of the itinerary prior to return.”-City of New Bedford.

The following is an opinion sent to New Bedford Guide. It does not reflect the opinion of New Bedford Guide, nor is it an OP-ED. In fairness and objectivity, we share opinions from our readers whether we agree or disagree with their opinion.

Do you have a counter opinion to this opinion? Have an opinion about something else? Email us at info@newbedfordguide.com.

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“The stunning defiance and arrogance of Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump.

Each phase of Israel’s response to the Hamas attack of October 7th reveals the depth of arrogance, self-righteousness and selfishness of Benjamin Netanyahu. The comparison to Donald Trump is startling. Each man is facing criminal convictions and is delaying judicial accountability: Netanyahu by continuing the horrendous war upon Gaza and Trump by fomenting and threatening civil war and utilizing every trial delaying tactic.

Devoid of compassion or commitment to the founding principles of their nations each man is doubling down on hateful rhetoric and is appealing to the vindictive and nationalist tendencies of millions of supporters.

Each man has the ability and possibility of completely destroying any international respect or support previously accorded their nation. The principles of rule of law, equality and fairness have no significance to them but are obstacles to their dictatorial aspirations.

It is particularly distressing that in two of the most educationally advanced nations, with unlimited access to accurate news, that hundreds of thousands of citizens continue to believe obvious lies, and support each man despite overwhelming evidence of their unethical, narcissistic and destructive agendas.”-Betty Ussach, Dartmouth.

By Alison Kuznitz
State House News Service

Top House Democrats unveiled plans Wednesday to invest $500 million in the emergency assistance family shelter system in the next fiscal year, hundreds of millions of dollars less than the Healey administration’s projection of costs.

Matching Gov. Maura Healey’s line item budget recommendation, the House intends to level-fund emergency family shelter at $325 million, though the administration anticipates the shelter system price tag will reach $915 million in fiscal 2025. The House’s budget proposal augments the $325 million figure by pulling $175 million from the state’s Transitional Escrow Fund.

The fund, composed of surplus dollars and federal COVID-19 relief money, is at the crux of a House and Senate supplemental budget debate over how to replenish shelter funding before the system runs out of money sometime this spring.

“This thing is a fluid discussion,” House Ways and Means Chairman Aaron Michlewitz told reporters during a briefing Wednesday. “You go back nine months ago, and it was a different discussion than it is today, so it’s hard to say exactly where this is going to be in six to nine months. We think that the number that we’re putting out today is, or putting on the table for discussion within the House, is one that we think gets us far enough along that we can see where we are going forward.”

While Healey in November imposed a 7,500 cap on the over-capacity shelter system, she based her $325 million allocation on a caseload of 4,100 families. With the state at its cap for months now, there were 736 families waiting to access emergency shelter on Wednesday, according to a spokesperson for the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities.

The fully unveiled House shelter funding approach for fiscal 2025 appears to signal a preference for continuing a pay-as-they-go approach to the shelter crisis and an attempt to not make more money available for shelter costs that have exploded and are affecting the Legislature’s ability to make other investments throughout the state budget.

Healey and Senate Democrats want the state to make the full $863 million Transitional Escrow Fund available to cover family shelter costs, but at least so far top House Democrats do not favor that approach.

Massachusetts has spent $504 million on operating emergency shelters so far this fiscal year, according to a biweekly report released Monday from the Healey administration. The report noted March invoices are still “being received and processed.”

The state is spending about $10,000 per family in the shelter system on a monthly basis, Senate Ways and Means Chairman Michael Rodrigues said last month.

Grappling with an unpredictable stream of new arrivals and a worsening revenue picture, lawmakers have used supplemental spending bills to plug major shelter funding gaps. Lawmakers are also wrestling with how to adjust the state’s right-to-shelter law, particularly imposing time limits on shelter stays, to prevent the system from collapsing under its high costs.

House Speaker Ron Mariano, who’s repeatedly condemned the lack of federal funding to support the migrant crisis, struck a more positive note Wednesday when describing his branch’s latest approach to covering steep shelter system expenses.

“Being an eternal optimist, things could change. Things could change next year, and we want to maintain as much control over this process as we can,” Mariano said. “You know, as we deal with the ebb and flow, we’re never quite sure what the numbers are going to be, so to anticipate the end number, I think it’s a bit premature. I’m always hopeful that something happens in Washington that brings some sort of, maybe not a solution, but a tightening up of the immigration system.”

Any serious run at passing federal immigration reforms appears unlikely at best until after this fall’s elections.

The House’s proposed use of the Transitional Escrow Fund to cover shelter costs could influence negotiations with the Senate over a supplemental budget in which the branches already disagree over how to pull from or potentially drain that fund.

Debate over the spending breakdown was initiated in January by Healey, who alongside her annual budget filed a supplemental budget that sought to drain the fund to cover shelter caseloads, school districts costs, case management, and health and community services. Healey’s budget team expected a $90 million funding gap with the proposal.

The House passed a supplemental budget in March steering $245 million from the fund to emergency shelters for fiscal 2024. Meanwhile, the Senate passed a version that more closely hewed to Healey’s request, allowing the administration to drain the entire account for this fiscal year and the following year.

“I think the state has a long history of providing supplemental funding as needed for the emergency assistance shelter system, but obviously in the past year, it’s an unprecedented time in how much funding is needed to sustain the program,” Kelly Turley, associate director of the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, said. “It’s not new for the Legislature to almost knowingly underfund the program at the start of the fiscal year.”

Michlewitz demurred when asked whether the Senate’s approach is considered a “non-starter” in supplemental budget negotiations as the House now proposes using $175 million from the fund in its annual budget proposal. He serves as the lead House negotiator on the six-member conference committee.

“We’re in negotiations right now on the supplemental budget, so we’ll have to see what shakes out,” said Michlewitz. “I think I gave up a long time (ago) on guessing when we’re going to come to an exact agreement, on what day it’s going to be, but we’re working — we’re continually talking with our Senate counterparts right now.”

Michlewitz later Wednesday indicated he was not aware of the date when the shelter system could run out of money, after he was asked by a reporter about that possibility happening by next week.

Turley warned delayed action from the Legislature could force the Healey administration to further restrict eligibility and access to the shelter system for migrant families, as well as Bay Staters facing homelessness.

“We’re continuing to hear from providers, advocates and state officials that families continue to be staying in Logan Airport as an alternative because they haven’t been able to access emergency assistance shelter or overflow spaces, and these are families who have already been deemed eligible for shelter,” Turley said.

The following is an opinion sent to New Bedford Guide. It does not reflect the opinion of New Bedford Guide, nor is it an OP-ED. In fairness and objectivity, we share opinions from our readers whether we agree or disagree with their opinion.

Do you have a counter opinion to this opinion? Have an opinion about something else? Email us at info@newbedfordguide.com.

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“As Trump’s cases have multiplied, the motions to dismiss are denied and civil judgments are in the millions, Trump is churning up his MAGA militias for a reprisal of the Capitol insurrection that could put this country on a trajectory for a bloody rebellion or a civil war.

As each criminal case is delayed with an uncertain outcome that keeps Trump’s name in every news cycle it affords him the opportunity to whine and threaten his opponents and flagrantly disrespect the judicial system.

Shooting a person on Fifth Avenue pales in comparison to the criminal indictments awaiting trial in state and federal courts. Standing before hundreds of thousands of charged up supporters and dog whistling a call to arms with bloody results is so potentially dangerous to this country. And suffering no consequences for his diatribes further enables and energizes Trump.

Proclaiming that he is being treated like any other criminal or civil defendant is inaccurate as most people charged with crimes and torts lack the funds to pursue every conceivable motion, or appeal, in order to delay their cases indefinitely.

Manipulating the system and avoiding conviction has inured to Trump’s benefit by providing fuel for his rants, confirms his supporters’ faith in his innocence and power, and has contributed to the emasculation of the Republican Party structure by his seizing control and funneling donations for his defense.

Trump will become the victor by winning or losing the election as he has enabled the worst inclinations of millions of Americans who are willing to forfeit their rights and best interests to elevate their beloved leader.”-Betty Ussach, Dartmouth.

In September of 2022 Governor DeSantis flew migrants to wealthy areas across the country, most notably Martha’s Vineyard in an attempt to make liberal locations feel the impacts of lax immigration policies.

Now, in April of 2024, a federal judge in Massachusetts has ruled that migrants who were flown to Martha’s Vineyard by order of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, can proceed with a lawsuit against the charter flight company that flew them to the island.

However, the judge did also dismiss claims against Governor DeSantis and other political figures named in the suit.

The Massachusetts judge allowing migrants to proceed with this lawsuit has sparked controversy, as many feel that President Biden is currently doing this on a larger scale, specifically targeting Governor Desantis State of Florida.

New data published from the Center for Immigration Studies has revealed over 320,000 migrants have been flown into Miami, Florida by order of President Biden.

Following the release of this information and the Massachusetts judge allowing this lawsuit to proceed, Elon Musk weighed in on the controversy.

Musk noted,

“Whatever lawsuit was filed against the flight company and others who took migrants to Martha’s Vineyard should be filed 100X against the airlines that did this.

Live by the sword, …”

Whatever lawsuit was filed against the flight company and others who took migrants to Martha’s Vineyard should be filed 100X against the airlines that did this.

Live by the sword, …

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 3, 2024

By Sam Drysdale
State House News Service

Lawmakers started negotiations Monday on a bill that’s expected to eventually inject hundreds of millions more dollars into the state’s family shelter system and put time limits on how long homeless families can stay in the system.

Ways and Means Chairs Rep. Aaron Michlewitz and Sen. Michael Rodrigues will lead the negotiations, as they also both work on their budgets for the upcoming fiscal year.

Michlewitz, Rodrigues and conferees Reps. Ann-Margaret Ferrante and Todd Smola and Sens. Cynthia Friedman and Patrick O’Connor held their negotiations open to the public for about two minutes Monday, before voting to go into executive session and closing the discussions to outsiders.

In opening statements both chairs emphasized the urgency of the negotiations.

“I look forward to working with all of you to get this rectified as quickly as possible. You and I are experienced at it,” Rodrigues said to Michlewitz. “So I’m sure we will accomplish that goal quickly.”

The House version of the fiscal 2024 spending bill (H 4466 / S 2711) directs $245 million towards the shelter system, while the Senate bill would authorize the Healey administration to pull from an $863 million state savings account called the transitional escrow fund across both fiscal 2024 and 2025.

State officials estimate that funds already appropriated for the shelter system will run out sometime this spring.

The Senate bill also calls for making permanent pandemic-era provisions allowing expanded outdoor dining and a graduate student nursing program, but in a contrast from the House, it would not allow restaurants to continue selling alcoholic beverages to go — a pandemic-era policy that expired at the end of March since lawmakers failed to renew it before then.

“I’m looking forward to working with you, and all of you, on this supplemental budget bill trying to get it done as quickly as possible. We have some obviously important pieces in there that are of immediate need. And I know we share a desire to see this get to the governor’s desk as soon as we can,” Michlewitz said.

Much of the debate will revolve around the use of reserve funds, which have grown since an influx of federal dollars during the pandemic and state budget surpluses allowed lawmakers to tuck away historic amounts.

Both House and Senate bills also look to cap how long a family can stay in shelter — a departure from the state’s 40-year-old policy that qualifying homeless families can stay in state-run housing for as long as it takes to get on their feet.

Representatives and senators are looking to restrict stays to nine months. The Senate would allow officials to award one or more 90-day extensions to shelter residents who meet criteria, such as single parents of children with disabilities or those who need an extension to avoid losing a job. The House would offer three-month extensions to those who are employed or enrolled in a job training program, pregnant women, people with certain disabilities, veterans and those facing domestic violence risks.

By Sam Drysdale

About a dozen protestors rallied on the State House steps Wednesday afternoon and called for the state to end its right-to-shelter law, as Massachusetts’ family shelter system has swelled over the past year and is on track to cost the state $2 billion by next summer.

The protestors held signs reading “HEALEY HOTEL HELL,” “END MA SANCTUARY INCENTIVES” and “LAWMAKERS WOKE TAXPAYERS BROKE.”

“The right to shelter law and the sanctuary city laws that have been imposed on the state by the State House and by the Supreme Court of Massachusetts create incentives that dig a hole that will never be filled,” said Lou Murray, chairman of Bostonians Against Sanctuary Cities.

A 1983 law makes Massachusetts the only state in the country that has a legal obligation to shelter unhoused families, which the state has always interpreted to include noncitizens living in the state.

About half of the residents of the Emergency Assistance shelter system are new immigrants, and the system’s dramatic growth by thousands of families in the last year has largely been driven by newly arriving families from other countries, as Massachusetts and the U.S. at large struggle with an immigration crisis.

“It’s a twist of the law, that it has to even let people that just come into the state for the sole purpose of shelter to use the right of shelter,” Murray said.

The protestors argued Wednesday that the shelter system was “totally overrunning our state budget,” and that ending the state’s right-to-shelter law would slow the wave of new arrivals.

Massachusetts’ emergency shelter costs will approach $1 billion annually this fiscal year and next fiscal year, according to Gov. Maura Healey’s administration.

“Tax dollars are a precious resource, and what is happening in Massachusetts is entirely unsustainable,” said Henry Barbaro, executive director of the Massachusetts Coalition for Immigration Reform. “I think that there are plenty of poor and needy Americans that should come first.”

House Ways and Means Committee Chair Rep. Aaron Michlewitz earlier this week acknowledged the strain on the state budget.

“Massachusetts is also seeing a migrant crisis like like no other state in the nation, one that has put our emergency family shelter system and our budget at a breaking point at the moment,” Michlewitz told members of the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts. “And although our fiscal outlook is still pretty strong, and we built up our reserves to record highs, the budget before us today that we’re dealing with is going to be one of the most challenging I’ve had to deal with as the chair.”

Healey capped the family shelter system at 7,500 families last fall, and since then close to 800 families have joined a waiting list hoping for a spot in stable shelter. American citizens do not get priority over those who recently entered the country.

While calling for federal aid and reforms to alleviate the crisis, Healey has also attempted to help families in shelters to obtain work permits so they can become self-sufficient and help employers fill holes in the labor force.

In order to get a spot in the Emergency Assistance system, a noncitizen must have come to the U.S. through legal means, as a refugee, asylum-seeker or through another legal process.

“In Massachusetts, they get a right to shelter, driver’s licenses, in-state tuition. All sorts of things. Gov. Healey should be turning the magnets off, because it’s unsustainable,” Barbaro said.

Citing rising costs, lawmakers in both the House and Senate recently passed bills to put limits on the amount of time a family can stay in the EA shelter system. Both would restrict stays to nine months, with different ideas for exceptions and extensions.

Asked about the idea of cutting shelter costs by placing time limits on family stays, Murray said it was not enough.

“The exceptions to the rule overwhelm the reform, I really think the only thing that we can do right now is to repeal the right to shelter,” he said.

U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), along with the entire Massachusetts congressional delegation, sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs Rena Bitter, urging them to expedite the processing of immigrant visas for Haitians — particularly for relatives of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents (LPRs). The request comes as Haiti has plunged further into chaos, with gangs reportedly uniting, ousting the country’s prime minister, and coordinating attacks that some warn could spark a civil war.

“We write to express our increasing concern regarding consular operations at the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti,” wrote the lawmakers. “We urge the State Department to expedite the processing of immigrant visas for Haitians, particularly for relatives of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents (LPRs).”

Haiti has already struggled with long-standing challenges that have contributed to the deterioration of its security situation, including one of the deadliest earthquakes in modern history, severe corruption, massive protests, and crippling debt. In 2021, the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse plunged the country into a state of unrest. As of 2023, the country has had no democratically elected government, and gangs now control an estimated 80 percent of the capital city. The local population faces skyrocketing rates of homicides, kidnappings, internal displacement, cholera, and starvation.

“As you recently highlighted, Haiti presents ‘one of the most urgent challenges we face as an international community.’ The situation in Haiti demands urgent, creative solutions to ensure that, at a minimum, relatives of U.S. persons can be quickly processed and reunited with their families in the United States,” wrote the lawmakers.

This crisis has led many individuals to seek asylum in the United States. Massachusetts has one of the largest Haitian diasporas in the country, and many Haitian-Americans are desperately trying to sponsor family members still in Haiti. Thousands of Haitian relatives of U.S. citizens and long-term permanent residents (LPRs) are in the processing queue for family-based immigrant visas. However, the U.S. embassy in Port-au-Prince — the U.S. government’s only post in the country — has been operating on an emergency-only basis due to the ongoing security crisis and has suspended or greatly delayed the processing of most visa services.

“The State Department must implement stop-gap solutions to more quickly process visas for Haitians in need of urgent protection, even as the U.S. Embassy maintains minimal operations in Haiti,” continued the lawmakers. “We appreciate the scale and complexity of this issue and applaud the work the State Department has already done to explore creative solutions to address the backlog. Still, we urge the State Department to ensure that solutions are implemented with the urgency that this issue demands.”

Specifically, the lawmakers are recommending the State Department implement the following policy and operational changes to visa processing in Haiti, including:

– Waive the personal, in-person appearance requirement, at least for Haitian immediate relatives of U.S. persons.
Ramp up capacity for processing Haitian immigrant visas at a third-country post.
– Establishing a new location for in-person requirements besides the U.S. embassy, given the particularly high level of unrest in the neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince and the threat posed to those who leave their homes.
– Senator Warren has led ongoing efforts to protect the rights of asylum seekers and other migrants, and to hold the United States accountable to its humanitarian obligations:

In February 2024, Senators Warren and Markey sent a letter to U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Vice Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine), urging them to increase funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Shelter and Services Program (SSP) to $5 billion in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) appropriations bill for fiscal year 2024.

In February 2024, Senator Warren and colleagues submitted an amendment to the Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2024 that would provide $5 billion for the FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program without requiring U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to ramp up its detention and deportation efforts. Senator Warren worked with Senator Padilla and others to submit a similar amendment to the Fiscal Year 2024 Spending Package in March 2024.
In December 2023, Senator Warren, along with the entire Massachusetts delegation, wrote to FEMA raising concerns about a lack of federal funding for non-border states like Massachusetts experiencing a significant influx of migrants and requesting additional federal SSP funding for the Commonwealth.

In November 2023, Warren, Markey, Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) sent a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Ur Jaddou, about several policy proposals to help address delays in issuing employment authorization documents.

In September 2023, Senators Warren and Markey applauded the Biden administration’s redesignation of TPS for Venezuelan migrants.
In August 2023, Senators Warren and Markey and Representatives Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), Lori Trahan (D-Mass.), Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), James McGovern (D-Mass.), Richard Neal (D-Mass.), Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), and Bill Keating (D-Mass.) sent a letter to Secretary Mayorkas and Director Jaddou, urging them to expedite the processing of EADs for individuals paroled into the United States, which would lessen the strain on available humanitarian and housing resources.

In March 2023, Senator Warren and lawmakers submitted a public comment against the Biden administration’s proposed rule to restrict asylum at the southern border. The senators called on the Biden administration to withdraw the rule in its entirety.

In January 2023, Senator Warren and nearly 70 other lawmakers sent a letter urging President Biden to reverse the administration’s expansion of the inhumane Trump-era border policy known as Title 42 and to abandon the proposed asylum “transit ban” rule. The lawmakers also encouraged the President and his administration to work with Congress to develop safe, humane, and orderly border policies that enforce our immigration laws and uphold the right to asylum under domestic and international law.

In September 2022, Senator Warren led members of the Massachusetts delegation in a letter to DHS and FEMA calling for funding from the Emergency Food and Shelter Program to be allocated swiftly to organizations assisting newly arrived migrants in Massachusetts.
In September 2022, Senator Warren released a statement condemning efforts to use asylum seekers as political pawns and committing to assisting communities in need.

In November 2021, Senator Warren stated her opposition to the continued use of Title 42 to expel asylum seekers and called for the Biden administration to rescind this policy.

In October 2021, Senator Warren joined Senator Menendez in criticizing the inhumane treatment of Haitian migrants and called on the administration to support long-term stability in Haiti.

In October 2021, Senator Warren called on Chris Magnus to commit to transparency regarding the investigation into the events in Del Rio, Texas during his confirmation hearing to be CBP Commissioner.