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Last week, a contentious vote took place in the Massachusetts House of Representatives where a bill aimed at prioritizing U.S. military veterans for shelter assistance over illegal immigrants was defeated.
The bill, known as “Homeless Veterans Prioritization for Shelter Assistance,” was rejected with a vote of 27-129. The majority of Democrats opposed the bill, while all 25 House Republicans, along with two Democrats, supported it.
The Amendment 698, introduced by Republican Minority Leader Bradley Jones as part of House Bill 4600, was intended to give homeless veterans preferential access to the state’s emergency housing assistance program,
Despite the support from Republicans and a small faction of Democrats, the bill was heavily criticized by other Democrats as a political maneuver.
The Democrats believe that migrants who come across the border illegally deserve more treatment than veterans, who have literally put their lives on the line for our country.
The opposition from Democrats was partly based on the argument that non-English speaking illegal immigrants require more substantial support due to language barriers.
“They have the advantage of speaking the language, most of our military folks. So this folks that we’re really working on may not have that. So it’s going to be really difficult for them to say, ‘Yes, I used to be an electrician in my country. I’m just using mine, which is Somalia.’ But that might not really fall into our laws that we have in this country,” said one of the state representatives.
WATCH:
DISGUSTING!
House Democrats Reject Giving Massachusetts Homeless Veterans Preference Over Migrants in Shelter System
Amendment 698, homeless veterans prioritization for shelter assistance, was rejected on a 27-129 roll call vote.
In a few words, MA Democrats are telling you… pic.twitter.com/aDavGxWg3a
— I Meme Therefore I Am (@ImMeme0) April 28, 2024
Newsmax reported:
Gov. Maura Healey had previously said the state lacks the space, services, and funding to provide shelter for more than 7,500 families, according to Newsweek. Massachusetts has spent nearly $1 billion on state-run shelters for families and migrants, the Boston Globe reported.
Rep. Gerard Cassidy, the Democrat co-chair of the Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs told the Fall River Reporter the bill was a political ploy and a bill for veterans will be coming out in May.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has moved migrants from his state to the Bay State, called the vote “insanity.”
“It must end,” Abbott said on X, formerly known as twitter. “Illegal immigrants should not be prioritized over our veterans who served our country.”
House Democrats in Massachusetts also voted down a bill that would install a three-month residency requirement for family shelter, prioritizing state residents on a waitlist, the Fall River Reporter said.
Assistant Majority Leader Alice Pesich, a Democrat, told the Fall River Reporter that no families, whether they are new to the state or not, are being put out on the street.
Over recent years, there has been an increase in the number of illegal immigrants in Massachusetts.
According to Pew Research Center, in 2021, there were 220,000 undocumented workers in Massachusetts, which is about 5.5% of the state’s workforce. This means that undocumented residents accounted for 4.3% of the population in 2021, which is an estimated gain of 120,000 undocumented residents since 2010.
The post Massachusetts House Democrats Vote Against Bill to Prioritize Homeless Veterans for Shelter — Argue that Illegal Immigrants Need More Support Because They Don’t Speak English (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
