Representative Wong demands answers from Healey Administration following arrest at state-funded shelter

Illegal immigrant housed at Revere motel facing multiple gun, drug charges

Special to The Advocate

BOSTON – State Representative Donald Wong (R-Saugus) is demanding answers from the Healey Administration following the recent arrest of an illegal immigrant from the Dominican Republic residing in the state’s emergency shelter system who is facing multiple firearms and drug possession charges, including one count of possessing nearly five kilograms of fentanyl worth an estimated $1 million.

A letter signed by Representative Wong and his colleagues in the House Republican Caucus was delivered to Governor Healey’s office this morning, expressing the caucus members’ collective “deep concerns and outrage” that an undocumented immigrant was allegedly in possession of a high-capacity firearm, along with fentanyl and cocaine, and was allegedly selling these drugs in a Revere motel being used as one of the state’s emergency shelters.

“There are long term residents of Massachusetts who have been on waiting lists for the emergency family shelter program, yet an individual here illegally, breaking our laws and putting our citizens at risk by running a drug ring with fentanyl and cocaine, somehow got priority over other deserving long term lawful Massachusetts residents,” the caucus wrote. “How does such an individual get priority on the waiting list over lawful longtime residents of the Commonwealth looking for one of a very limited number of shelter spots?”

In its letter to Governor Healey, the caucus questioned how this individual was able to circumvent the Administration’s stated eligibility requirements to qualify for the state-run shelter program, which the Administration has repeatedly told legislators are strictly limited to “residents and documented immigrants who have lawful permission to be in the United States and declare Massachusetts as their place of residency.” The caucus also questioned the effectiveness of the comprehensive background checks the Healey Administration says it conducts before allowing admission to the state’s emergency shelter system.

“How is it possible an undocumented immigrant here illegally is receiving a benefit of emergency family shelter even though our laws do not allow it?” the caucus wrote. “How is it this individual wasn’t flagged in a so-called comprehensive background check upon application for shelter? How is it despite the strict gun laws of the Commonwealth this individual was allegedly able to acquire a high-capacity firearm? How was a criminal enterprise being run out of a family shelter as he allegedly obtained fentanyl and cocaine that he was allegedly selling from the shelter’s motel room?”

The House Republican Caucus described the situation as “outrageous and totally unacceptable,” noting that it “poses a serious public safety threat for law-abiding Massachusetts residents and the communities hosting these migrant shelters.”

“Sadly, despite background checks, this is not an isolated incident, as there have been other reported instances of serious crimes committed by individuals residing in these shelters, including one case involving a 26-year-old Haitian national who was taken into custody by ICE as an unlawfully present migrant after being charged with the aggravated rape of a child in a migrant shelter in Rockland,” the caucus wrote.

In its letter, the caucus insisted the state “must do a better job of providing close and continuous oversight of these facilities to ensure the safety of those residing in state-run shelters as well as surrounding communities,” adding that “There are simply no excuses for tolerating this type of criminal behavior, especially when it occurs within a state-run program publicly funded by taxpayer dollars.”

“Our House Republican Caucus demands answers on how this was allowed to happen and what steps your Administration is taking to rectify this situation and to ensure the safety and protection of Massachusetts residents,” the caucus wrote to Governor Healey. “We request that you address this failure to carry out the law immediately, not only to the state legislature but to every hard-working taxpayer of the Commonwealth who is paying for this program. We look forward to your response on where the system failed, why it failed, and what your Administration is doing to ensure that this does not happen again.”