MASSACHUSETTS – State Republicans are demanding answers from Gov. Maura Healey about her administration's use of the state's right-to-shelter law with newly arrived migrants. Lawmakers sent a letter to Healey days after a man was arrested for firearms and drugs in one of the shelters.

"Someone's going to die," said Sen. Ryan Fattman. "What are we waiting for to change this system?"

Fattman said his level of concern regarding the state's emergency shelter system is growing. He pointed to a number of violent incidents in recent months, including some involving rape, and said enough is enough.

"The idea that we are putting people who are not our residents into our shelters, and then they're trafficking drugs and firearms that are illegal in our state is just truly sick," said Fattman.

In late December, police in Revere recovered a large capacity assault rifle at the Quality Inn, the city's emergency shelter site. In a later search, they also found 10 pounds of lethal drugs with a street value of more than $1 million, and additional firearms. The findings resulted in the arrest of a Dominican national who was not in the country legally.

Fattman described the right-to-shelter law as a free-for-all, which has cost the state more than $2.5 billion.

"It's a black hole where taxpayer dollars are just getting burned," said Fattman. "We need to put in significant reforms."

Healey has called for a review of all state shelter policies, calling the situation in Revere "outrageous" and saying residents in Massachusetts are dealing with the impacts of federal inaction.

The governor said in a statement: "This further underscores our broken federal immigration system and the urgent need for Congress and the White House to act on a border security bill to prevent criminals from entering our communities."

Fattman pointed to residency requirements as a potential start to help aide the issue.

"We say everyone in the system that's not a Massachusetts resident, you have 60 days to figure out exactly where you're going, what you're going to do," Fattman said. "And after that, you have to be a resident for our state for six months in order to get into the shelter program."

The governor is requesting another $425 million in her supplemental spending bill to keep the shelter program running for another six months. Healey said all shelters in Massachusetts are going to be inspected, starting with the one in Revere.