Elon Musk indirectly criticized Gov. Maura Healey’s handling of immigration in Massachusetts, saying “now they want your homes too” in a repost of an August news story on the administration’s efforts to find more housing for homeless families.
The eccentric billionaire posted a message Tuesday night highlighting Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll’s call in August to those with an extra room in their home to consider hosting a homeless family as state-run shelters started to overcrowd amid an influx of migrants and crushing housing costs in Massachusetts.
“They’ve run out of hotel rooms, are kicking kids out of school for illegal housing and now they want your homes too,” Musk said in a social media post that garnered more than 24 million impressions as of Wednesday morning.
Massachusetts is not removing students from school to create more shelter space nor are migrants living in state-run shelters considered illegal as they have been lawfully allowed into the United States by the federal government.
Healey spokesperson Karissa Hand said Massachusetts is “continuing to come together to address this situation.”
“These blatant lies are intended to distract and divide people, and that’s not what we stand for in Massachusetts,” Hand said in a statement to the Herald.
Musk often amplifies conservative talking points on X, the social media company formally known as Twitter that he owns, and in recent months, has highlighted messaging on immigration more aligned with Republican talking points.
At an Aug. 8, 2023 press conference where Healey declared a state of emergency because of a lack of shelter space, Driscoll said “safe housing and shelter is our most pressing need.”
“Become a sponsor family,” Driscoll said. “You can contact the Brazilian Worker Center for more information on how you can step up if you’re willing to have an additional family be part of your family.”
Conservatives across the country and in Massachusetts have used immigration as a flashpoint issue in the runup to federal and state elections this year.
It was a central part of Sen. Peter Durant’s messaging in his successful bid for state Senate, and has become a sticking point on Beacon Hill between Democrats in the super-majority and Republicans in the super-minority.
There were more than 7,500 families living in state-run shelters as of Tuesday, according to data maintained by Massachusetts’ housing office.
