HUD-ICE Collaboration: Impact on Families
- housing justice groups,including people’s Action and VOCAL-NY,rallied in Washington,D.C.,and other cities to protest proposed cuts to federal housing assistance.
- The proposed discretionary budget includes a significant reduction in HUD spending, possibly slashing billions from rental assistance programs and eliminating Community Growth Block Grants.Sulma Arias, executive director of...
- Arias invoked Gale Cincotta, a housing activist, and said, "people might feel abandoned by this government...
The trump management’s proposed cuts to HUD spending threaten to destabilize housing for vulnerable families, impacting rental assistance programs adn potentially increasing homelessness. Housing advocates are fighting back against these measures, especially as policies could disproportionately affect mixed-status families. A recent memorandum of understanding between HUD and DHS prioritizes American citizens for housing, raising concerns about the purging of mixed-immigration status families from public housing, a move that could cost local housing authorities millions. This collaboration could lead to significant changes in housing assistance, particularly in states like New York, Texas, and California. For comprehensive coverage on these developments, News Directory 3 is your go-to source. Discover what’s next as advocates work to prevent these potentially harmful policy changes.
Trump Administration Targets Federal Housing Assistance Programs
housing justice groups,including people’s Action and VOCAL-NY,rallied in Washington,D.C.,and other cities to protest proposed cuts to federal housing assistance. The demonstrations occurred amid rising homelessness and concerns about the Trump administration’s policies.
The proposed discretionary budget includes a significant reduction in HUD spending, possibly slashing billions from rental assistance programs and eliminating Community Growth Block Grants.Sulma Arias, executive director of People’s Action Institute, emphasized the need to fight back against these measures.
Arias invoked Gale Cincotta, a housing activist, and said, “people might feel abandoned by this government… but we’re gonna get the crooks, the politicians, the corporations, all of them.”
Congresswoman Summer Lee, D-Pa., said the cuts would affect basic protections so billionaires can get tax breaks.
In late March, HUD and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) prioritizing American citizen families for Section 8 vouchers and public housing. Eric Dunn, director of litigation for the National Housing Law Project, said undocumented people are already ineligible for federal housing assistance.
Dunn added, “They are just trying to maximize the amount of fear and uncertainty.”
The MOU could lead to the purging of mixed immigration status families from public housing, impacting housing authorities in states like New York, Texas, and California. According to HUD estimates, 25,000 families are mixed status.
if mixed-status families were barred from housing, local housing authorities could lose between $179 million and $210 million in payments from HUD, according to a regulatory impact analysis. Juanita Lewis, executive director of Community Voices Heard, believes the effort to bar mixed status families is an attack on public housing itself.
Lewis said, “there’s this belief that this is fraud, because they distrust any public benefit at all.”
What’s next
Advocates anticipate the Trump administration may bypass typical rule change procedures to implement these policies, potentially leading to swift and significant changes in federal housing assistance programs.