Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03), U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), and members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation, sent a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Deanne Criswell, urging them to approve Massachusetts’ application for an additional $34.5 million in funding through the Shelter and Services Program (SSP) to better support new arrivals. At the moment, Massachusetts — the only state in the nation with a “right-to-shelter” law — has almost 7,500 families in its shelter system, with many living in the state’s overflow sites and others on waiting lists for shelter. 

“SSP funding is urgently needed in Massachusetts,” wrote the lawmakers. “With shelter facilities at capacity, families have been forced to sleep outdoors and in cars, in a state with below-freezing temperatures for months of the year. Some have turned to airport lobbies and hospital emergency rooms for makeshift shelter. The Commonwealth is now running out of shelter funding and faces a shortfall in its shelter budget for the upcoming fiscal year.”

 The full text of the letter is available HERE.

SSP covers shelter, food, and other essential services for newly arriving migrants and has served as a critical source of funding for shelters nationwide. Last year, Massachusetts only received $1.9 million of the $800 million in SSP funds allocated in FY2023. This funding year, only $650 million has been appropriated for SSP — less than half of the $1.4 billion requested by the Biden administration. Massachusetts alone anticipates spending $900 million on its Emergency Shelter System in FY2025.

“(We) urge FEMA to fulfill the Commonwealth’s entire request for $34.5 million from the pool of competitive SSP grant funds. Additional SSP funding is critical to ensure that Massachusetts receives an equitable share of funding that reflects the financial costs the Commonwealth is incurring,” continued the lawmakers. “Meanwhile, we will continue to fight for additional federal funding for communities hosting new arrivals.” 

“As the Commonwealth stands by its values and continues to welcome new arrivals, the state needs more federal funding to respond to a national trend of increased immigration. We thus ask you to promptly approve Massachusetts’ application,” concluded the lawmakers.

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