Housing Leaders Blast HUD Plan to Ban Mixed-Status Families

July 2, 2019                            By:  Donna Kimura

They say the move will increase the nation's homelessness crisis.

Thousands of American children will be at risk of homelessness under a controversial proposal by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), according to public housing leaders.

The plan, which would evict families in which a member is undocumented from obtaining subsidized housing, threatens the housing stability of 25,000 mixed-immigration status families, including 55,000 children who are U.S. citizens or otherwise eligible for HUD assistance, say officials who are fighting the move.

The proposal is a major change from a long-standing rules that allow families of mixed-immigration status to reside in subsidized housing as long as one family member is a legal resident.

Opponents of the new proposal stress that housing subsidies do not support undocumented immigrants. These individuals are permitted to live with their families, but the rents are prorated to ensure that subsidies do not assist with the undocumented immigrant’s portion of the rent.......Read More