On May 10, 2019, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published a proposed rule that would prohibit “mixed-status families” from living in public housing and Section 8 programs. Please submit comments here by July 9.
Mixed-status families are households that include both members who are eligible and ineligible for housing assistance based on their immigration status. Current law allows members of mixed-status families to live together in subsidized housing so long as the housing subsidy is decreased to prohibit the ineligible members from receiving assistance. Importantly, just because a household member is an “ineligible” immigrant, it doesn’t mean that they are undocumented. Immigrants can have legal status and still not be eligible for public housing and Section 8 programs.
The rule would further require all residents under the age of 62 to have their immigration status screened through the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements Program (SAVE), which is operated by the Department of Homeland Security. Families with members who are deemed “ineligible” will be evicted from subsidized housing after 18 months or sooner.
Additionally, the rule would impose new citizenship and immigration documentation requirements for U.S. citizens and individuals 62 years old or older. Citizens and the elderly who are not able to provide proof of citizenship and immigration status will be at risk of losing their assistance and facing homelessness. This could cause hundreds of thousands to lose their aid and their homes because they don’t have the documents needed to verify their citizenship and can’t get them in the required time. It could also create new burdens and costs for tens of thousands of housing agencies and private owners that administer aid in local communities from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
More information and how to comment from the National Housing Law Project and the National Low Income Housing Coalition here. Click here for further information from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Additional resources: VAHC comment letter | New England Housing Network letter
Special thanks to our Senators Leahy and Sanders for opposing this potentially devastating new rule in a letter to HUD Secretary Carson, which includes further material you can adapt for your comments.
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