Cabral Budget Proposal Seeks Financials on Sheriff-ICE Agreements

BOSTON — Representative Antonio Cabral secured some significant funding for New Bedford as the House unanimously passed its proposed $47.72 billion FY2022 budget on Thursday, and also saw the House unanimously pass his proposal to require the state’s sheriffs to report the finances of their agreements with ICE.

The language passed by the House requires the state’s county sheriffs and the Department of Corrections to report the costs, reimbursements, and expenses associated with their agreements with US Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) every quarter beginning in October 2021.

“I have been fighting this fight because I believe deputizing prison officials to act as federal immigration agents is bad public policy,” Rep. Cabral (D-New Bedford) said in a press release. “It is ineffective, breaks down the relationship between the immigrant community and genuine law enforcement, and is costly to Massachusetts taxpayers who must cover the expense. This new reporting requirement is the first step in understanding the true cost of these programs.”

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Cabral also secured $173,746,584 in state funding for New Bedford Public Schools, an increase of $1.15 million over Governor Charlie Baker’s original proposal and $7.7 million than was allocated in FY21.

In the House proposal, the City of New Bedford will receive $25,282,408 in unrestricted general
government aid for the City’s budget.

Rep. Cabral also worked to secure:
• $80,000 for youth programs at the Dennison Memorial Community Center
• $75,000 for outreach and educational programming at AHA! Arts, History, & Architecture of
New Bedford
• $50,000 for opioid abuse treatment at the Greater New Bedford Community Health Center
• $50,000 for the support of productions and programming at the Zeiterion, Inc.
• $25,000 for the youth apprenticeship program at the New Bedford Festival Theatre
• $25,000 for cultural educational programming at the Cape Verdean Association of New Bedford
• $25,000 for programming at the Frederick Douglass House
• $25,000 for the New Bedford Municipal Airport

Rep. Cabral again secured $450,000 for UMass Dartmouth’s SMAST for fisheries research for the eighth consecutive year.

Leading as Chairman, Rep. Cabral and the Gateway Cities Legislative Caucus (GCLC) focused their budget priorities on education support programs and community development initiatives that meet the specific needs of Gateway Cities, such as New Bedford. The GCLC helped secure:
• $5,300,000 for Dual Enrollment grants, which enables high school students to earn college
credit
• $1,000,000 for the English Language Learners Gateway Cities Program
• $750,000 for neighborhood stabilization efforts within the Transformative Development Fund
to support community-led revitalization efforts.

The budget now goes to the Senate for consideration.