The Department of Housing and Urban Development has concluded that the Trump administration’s new plan to evict undocumented immigrants from subsidized housing would lead to more than 55,000 children who are legal residents or citizens being kicked out of their homes, according to the Washington Post.
The proposed rule, which was published Friday in the Federal Register and which has been promoted by White House adviser Stephen Miller, would supplant the current policy that allows undocumented immigrants with children who are citizens to qualify for public housing (the subsidies are prorated to cover only the eligible residents). Under the proposed rule, only families in which every member is a legal resident or citizen would qualify.
According to the Post, the HUD analysis of the proposed rule concluded that about 25,000 households—for a total of 108,000 people—in subsidized housing have at least one person who would be ineligible. In those households, about half of the members are children who, as citizens or legal residents, would normally legally qualify for aid.
If the rule is approved, it’s likely a number of families would suddenly find themselves temporarily homeless.
In addition, according to the Post, the policy change would actually cost the federal government millions more, as the families that fill in the newly vacated housing would receive higher subsidies, given that every member of the household would be considered eligible. As a result, the department would likely need to “reduce the quantity and quality of assisted housing,” according to the Post. The analysis recommended alternative changes to the housing rules to soften the blow to children who are citizens. Those recommendations include grandfathering in mixed-status families that already have HUD subsidies.
