Single mothers and senior citizens, along with union organizers, activists, and Los Angeles city government officials, launched an urgent appeal to the public to oppose a proposal by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The measure requires all public housing residents to provide proof of US citizenship or eligible immigration status, which would also affect households with legal immigration status mixed.

Scott Turner, Secretary of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), announced on February 20 a new rule that he said would ensure that taxpayer-funded housing benefits go only to US citizens and people with eligible status. The proposal includes a 60-day period for public comment, which expires on April 21.

“It makes me sad, because if that rule is implemented, I could end up homeless,” said Ingrid, a single mother of four from Escuintla, Guatemala, with tears in her eyes. Her children are US citizens. "Where would I go with my children? Would they have to live under bridges and not have a roof over their heads? Unthinkable!" she added. “I hope they allow older children who are citizens to remain the head of the household.” That way, as parents, we wouldn't be so worried.” However, Ingrid hopes to keep her children: “That's what many families like mine hope for,” she told La Opinion. Thousands in danger. The approval of the federal government's proposal would cause mass evictions, including some 2,298 families and nearly 6,000 residents of Los Angeles. If implemented, the HUD initiative would cause nearly 80,000 families across the country to lose housing assistance, including 37,000 children who are US citizens, according to data from the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC). Along with the National Housing Bill Project and the Coalition to Protect Immigrant Families, she launched the Keep Families Together campaign to oppose the HUD proposal. "I introduced a resolution in the Los Angeles City Council opposing this proposed HUD rule. And it passed unanimously," recalled Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez (District 1). "We don't always agree on everything in the City Council. In fact, we disagree on many things.But when it comes to opposing a reckless and cruel federal policy that would destabilize our city, there was no question.” Hernandez indicated that the Trump Administration loves to single out Los Angeles and say that we can't govern “They say there's no law and order here. They say cities like ours are chaotic. Out of control. Failing. But at the same time, they're actively sabotaging the very systems that keep people married and communities stable!” The local official emphasized that cities cannot be accused of dysfunction, chaos, and anarchy while simultaneously creating instability and pushing policies that would displace thousands of families and increase homelessness overnight. Hernandez stressed that, nationally, one in three families could be forced to leave the country. That's the strategy. Create crises. Point fingers. Their entire strategy is to pit workers against each other—to make you angry at immigrants, at your neighbors, at families living in public housing—so you don't see who is looting this country in plain sight.” She added that while families struggle for housing, billionaires get tax breaks and immigrant communities are terrified. “While we argue over crumbs, they protect the wealthy elites,” she stated.

Trump, back at it again

The Notice of Proposed Regulation (NPRM), titled “Housing and Community Development Act of 1980: Eligibility Verification,” seeks to repeat the Trump Administration's 2019 attempt to separate or evict mixed-status families in HUD-subsidized housing. However, Unlike the 2019 attempts, the current proposal creates citizenship verification requirements for all households living in HUD-subsidized housing, including more than 4.3 million households with a US citizen. And, according to additional information from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), the number of people in HUD-assisted households subject to the proposed documentation requirements would affect 24,000,300 ineligible foreigners: 16,900 women, 1,300 adults over 62 years of age, 21,900 adults between 18 and 61 years of age, approximately 1,100 children aged 0-17, and 700 people with disabilities. By race and ethnicity, the greatest impact would be on 21,200 Latinos who are not US citizens and approximately 1,800 African Americans.

“Funding a Regime of Terror”

Tabatha Yelos, community organizer and political advocate with the group People Organized for Westside Renewal (POWER), revealed that the income of the affected families is barely $30,000 annually and that, if evicted, no one would be able to afford market rents. “They will probably end up on the streets of the city or county of Los Angeles,” she explained. “That's what we don't want; an increase in homelessness.” “What will the city and county do with more homeless people?” he was asked. “Precisely what we don't want is an increase in homelessness and homelessness due to the cruelty that is happening; all the social services that our families depend on are being cut to continue funding their regime of terror. “This makes the future very difficult for the immigrant community.” “What we fear is that this proposal is just a strategy to make more arrests and deportations.” And who benefits? “All of the president's [Donald Trump's] friends who own the detention centers and who run the corporations that are providing data to ICE. The worst part is that there are around 36,000 citizen children who are at risk of losing their homes and their parents,” he added. Councilman Hugo Martinez-Soto (District 13) called the proposal to require proof of US citizenship or eligibility status for all residents of housing financed by HUD, including households with mixed immigration status, as “truly despicable.” Martinez-Soto shared her personal experience living in a mixed-status family and the challenges faced by families with members without regular immigration status. “Given everything that's happening, it's urgent to act before April 21 and flood the HUD website with public comments from opposition,” she said. Elizabeth Blaney, co-director of the Neighborhood Union, clarified that people without legal documents are not receiving any federal subsidies; Over, they are the ones paying the highest rents on the market. “So, there's no reason to evict them at this time.” “Obviously, there are many mixed-status families because they have an undocumented relative, but they practically want to eliminate all types of assistance for them,” Blaney said. The Keep Families Together coalition, through Action Network, aims to send 60,000 digital and mail comments to HUD opposing the proposal. The link to submit dissenting comments in the Federal Register is: https://bit.ly/kftcomment.

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