Washington, D.C. – The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law condemns a proposed U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulation barring most families that include both people who are undocumented immigrants and individuals who are not (mixed-status families) from several types of publicly subsidized housing. The proposed Verification of Eligible Status rule runs contrary to explicit statutory language and Congress’s intent to allow for prorated assistance for mixed-status families.
“Secretary Carson’s attack on mixed-status families is as mean-spirited and irrational as the Trump Administration’s other anti-immigrant policy positions from the construction of a border wall to child separation,” said Kristen Clarke, President and Executive Director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “The practical effect of this rule is that it could leave vulnerable families and their children homeless. This administration’s repeated insistence on requesting zero funding for the Public Housing Capital Fund belies any notion that this xenophobic policy is intended to increase housing assistance for eligible low-income families.”
Unlike most proposed HUD rules, Secretary Ben Carson personally signed off on this proposed regulation, which will appear in the Federal Register on Thursday, May 10, 2019.
The proposed regulation will be subject to a 60-day public comment period beginning on May 10. The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law will work with coalition allies to oppose HUD’s proposed rule change. Publicly subsidized housing programs that would be subject to the proposed regulation include public housing, Project-Based Section 8, and the Housing Choice Voucher program, along with several smaller programs.
About the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, was formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to involve the private bar in providing legal services to address racial discrimination. Now in its 56th year, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is continuing its quest to “Move America Toward Justice.” The principal mission of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is to secure, through the rule of law, equal justice for all, particularly in the areas of criminal justice, fair housing and community development, economic justice, educational opportunities, and voting rights.
Contact
Reynolds Graves, Lawyers’ Committee, RGraves@LawyersCommittee.org, 202-662-8375
