Gov. Maura Healey considers Massachusetts taxpayers a very “select” group.

First, she “selected” various communities across the Bay State to house emergency shelters for the influx of immigrants who started arriving in 2022. Then Healey “selected” Mass. taxpayers to foot the roughly $1B bill to house and care for the surge of immigrants and homeless, a number that only now sees hope of dwindling.

And on Friday, Healey “selected” taxpayers to shell out for a $5 million legal defense fund for immigrants. It was part of the $61B FY state budget she signed, one which bears her veto mark on $130 million in funding.

It would be great if Healey could select someone else, but there aren’t many places in the U.S. who haven’t also shouldered the fiscal burden of President Biden’s porous border policy. It wasn’t that long ago that Democrats, particularly of the progressive wing, were all for giving sanctuary to anyone and everyone who wanted it, regardless of illegal entry into the U.S. Families seeking a better way of life, criminals, drug traffickers, it didn’t matter. All were welcome.

If Blue State pols had stood up to Biden then and asked: “Who is going to pay for all this?” and “how is this sustainable?” and “is there any vetting being done?” we wouldn’t be where we are today.

But Democratic pols aren’t blaming Biden, they are taking aim at Donald Trump for tightening the border and enforcing immigration laws.

And in Massachusetts, taxpayers are budgetary cannon fodder. That $5M legal defense fund isn’t from “leftover” cash. It’s a program that will enjoy funding while Healey’s budget office stands at the ready to slash millions in legislative earmarks for local projects.

It’s all Trump’s fault, of course. “We are also signing this budget in a moment of great dysfunction in Washington. The president is poised to sign a bill that’s going to kick hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts residents off their health care, increase energy and grocery prices, and cost people their jobs,” Healey said in a statement.

That $5M would come in handy then. But as we’ve seen over the past few years, money for migrants isn’t on the chopping block.

It’s a risky political move as Healey primes for a re-election campaign. Any cuts to local earmarks would be sure to draw pushback from state lawmakers who push the requests through the budget process. They’re the ones who bring the bacon home to their districts, and Healey’s cuts, if they happen, will be felt.

Her opponents jumped on it. Mike Kennealy, a Republican running for governor, said Healey has already used billions “in tax dollars to subsidize shelters, food, transportation, rental assistance, education, and health care.

“This latest $5 million is yet another insult to taxpaying legal residents,” he said in a statement.

Brian Shortsleeve, another Republican running for governor, said “She cuts local projects out of the state budget, but $5 million for lawyers for the migrants survives her veto pen. Our taxpayer dollars should not be funding lawyers for people who are not legally in our country.”

Whether taxpayers are fed up enough to select someone other than Healey at the voting booth remains to be seen.

Editorial cartoon by Gary Varvel (Creators Syndicate)