LGBTQ+ Immigrant Org Returns Grant After Death Threats, Media Firestorm
A Cambridge-based nonprofit that supports LGBTQ+ migrants has returned a $7,500 Boston city grant and shut down a new wellness program after its founder received death threats and threats of being reported to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
OUTnewcomers, a community-led organization supporting LGBTQ+ asylum seekers, refugees and migrants in Greater Boston, launched its "Project Belonging Matters" program in mid-April, advertising small wellness vouchers to help low-income queer and transgender migrants access non-clinical supports including peer counseling, yoga, massage, hair styling, creative arts programming and other wellness services. The program required that all funds be spent within Boston city limits.
The program became a flashpoint after Mass Daily News, a website operated by Mass Daily Media LLC, a Wyoming-registered limited liability company with no named publisher, editor or staff listed on its site, published a story highlighting the vouchers as taxpayer-funded benefits for immigrants receiving services such as "massages and hair salons." The story was later picked up by national outlets including the New York Post and Daily Mail.
OUTnewcomers disputed that characterization, saying the reporting was misleading and took the program out of context. The organization said the initiative was intended as limited, need-based wellness support for vulnerable LGBTQ+ migrants — not unrestricted direct cash payments — and that no funds had been distributed.
"The severity of the threats we have received has made it impossible to continue this program safely," OUTnewcomers founder Sal Khan said in a statement. "Our work has always been rooted in care, dignity, and community support."
A Boston city spokesperson confirmed to Boston.com that the funds will be returned and that no money had been distributed.
"No funds were distributed for this purpose. The organization is returning the funds to the City. The $7,500 grant was awarded to support mental health programs and services — using it for the voucher program being referenced was never allowed and is not happening," the spokesperson said.
The city's own Weaving Well-Being program page on Boston.gov describes the grant as funding "community-led mental health and well-being programming" and "non-clinical practices" for Boston immigrant residents.
OUTnewcomers, founded by Khan in 2023, was one of 45 organizations selected through the Mayor's Office for Immigrant Advancement's Weaving Well-Being initiative. Khan said the organization will continue operating through private donations.
"This is something greater than myself," Khan told Boston.com. "I've been advocating for people like me since I've been here so that people understand our humanity."