Residents are up in arms about a plan to shelter hundreds of migrants inside a former Boston-area veterans’ shelter, according to the New York Post.
“I can’t believe the Chelsea Soldiers’ Home, which is for the Vets, is going to [be] used for the immigrants overflow,” Massachusetts resident George Belmonte said on social media. “How about taking care of the homeless vets first? I am all for helping people but how about taking care of those already here and homeless.”
Massachusetts Democratic Governor Maura Healey announced last week that the historic Chelsea Soldiers’ Home would be converted into a facility to house 100 migrant families, including pregnant women.
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Maura Healey, governor of Massachusetts, announced that the Chelsea Soldiers’ Home would be turned into a facility for migrants. (Adam Glanzman/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Google Maps/Screenshot)
The location was previously vacant and scheduled for demolition.
Massachusetts resident Denise Levy also expressed anger that migrants would be put in the location for free while veterans “who fought for our country are paying to live there.”
“Disgusting,” she wrote.
According to the Chelsea Soldiers’ Home website, single veterans living there must pay $30 per day with a $300 personal exemption from personal income for nursing home care.
Veterans who did not require nursing home care were asked to give $10 per day with the $300 exemption.
The Chelsea Soldiers’ Home was shut down in December after Massachusetts opened a larger veterans’ facility on Powder Horn Hill.
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Boston, MA – January 31: A worker walks through the over 300 Army cots on the gym floor as State and local officials toured the Melnea A. Cass Recreational Complex. The facility houses over 300 migrants. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Secretary of Veterans Services Dr. Jon Santiago told The Boston Herald that the new migrant facility would not impact veteran services.
“Massachusetts has proven that we can take care of veterans and families experiencing homelessness in our state,” he said.
The Veterans Home at Chelsea will become a “safety-net site” for migrants where, beginning May 1, they will have to prove they are working to wean off government assistance by applying for work authorizations, learning English and searching for permanent residency.
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There are 240 families living in safety-net sites, while 7,500 families reside in the state’s emergency shelters.
The migrant crisis has been complex for Massachusetts. The state’s newest emergency shelter, located in Roxbury, a neighborhood in Boston, reached its capacity of 400 people in just one week last month.
Gov. Healey’s office did not immediately return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fox News’ Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.