Friday, April 2, 2021, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is pubished a Federal Register notice that announced the Department’s withdrawal of HUD’s 2019 proposed rule on changes to the treatment of mixed status households receiving federal housing assistance. According to the notice, HUD has identified that the proposed rule is inconsistent with recent executive orders and the principles of advancing racial equity and improving immigration policies to better promote integration, inclusion, and paths to citizenship.
The proposed rule, published on May 10, 2019, was seen as an attack on the immigrant community that would bar “mixed-status” families from residing in public housing and using Section 8 programs. Mixed-status families are households where member(s) who are eligible for public housing assistance live with member(s) who are ineligible for housing assistance due to their immigration status. Under this proposed rule, mixed-status households would have had to make the impossible choice between tearing their families apart or being evicted from their homes.
During this time, HACLA collaborated and partnered with industry partners and California State Attorney General Xavier Becerra’s office to oppose the rule. Additionally, HACLA was in constant communication with its residents, encouraging everyone to participate in the public comment period and share how this proposed rule would impact their families and community. HACLA also submitted a comment, calling the rule “punitive, inhumane, immoral, and void of fiscal responsibility.” A total of 30,450 public comments were received overall.
“The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles was always in opposition to this proposed rule,” said HACLA CEO Doug Guthrie. “Not only was it completely contrary to our mission to expand deeply affordable housing and improve the quality of life for Angelenos, but it also instilled fear and uncertainty among our residents. That is never something we could support.”
