National CAPACD Demands Housing Aid for All, Regardless of Immigration Status
Last Wednesday, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) proposed a rule that would expand use of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) Program to public housing. Administered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), SAVE is used by federal and local government agencies to verify a person’s immigration status so that public benefits are awarded only to verified American citizens and legal residents. The rule, if passed, would lead to the eviction of about 25,000 immigrant households that currently reside in public housing. It is unclear if the policy would also target undocumented immigrants who live in public housing with a spouse or family member who is an American citizen. This rule is another example of the Administration’s anti-immigrant policies. It joins the ranks of the “public charge” rule and increased policing and raids by ICE to directly attack immigrants and refugees.
National CAPACD Executive Director Seema Agnani states “National CAPACD and our members work each day to advocate for and protect housing as a human right. HUD’s proposed rule undermines deplorably this right on the basis of immigration status. The Administration continues to devote its entire political machinery to create a climate of fear that has a disparate impact on our most vulnerable populations – undocumented immigrants and refugees. We know that an America that does not protect and lift the immigrants who have shaped it is not America at all. We stand in solidarity with immigrants and refugees and their right to access public housing.”
The proposed HUD rule is currently under review in Congress, after which there will be a 60-day public comment period. We encourage everyone in our network to submit comments and will provide further guidelines once the public comment period opens.