De Blasio Administration Opposes HUD Proposal to Evict Mixed-Status Families

The de Blasio Administration recently announced it submitted formal comments to the federal government in opposition to a proposed rule that would evict thousands of New Yorkers from federally assisted housing based on immigration status. It’s estimated that the rule change would have an immediate effect on approximately 11,400 New Yorkers, including nearly 5,000 children.

In a memo submitted to HUD on July 2, the city informed HUD that the policy would force thousands of households to choose between breaking up their families or losing their homes. The memo was filed on behalf of a number of city agencies, including the New York City Housing Authority, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs, NYC Health + Hospitals, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and the NYC Department of Social Services, among others.

New York City is home to NYCHA, the largest public housing authority in the country, as well as the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the nation's largest municipal housing agency charged with implementing the mayor's Housing New York plan to create 300,000 low-income homes by 2026. This rule would severely impact the housing programs administered the by the city, and potentially strip 2,800 affected households of critical public assistance through HPD and NYCHA programs.

Under current HUD guidelines, families made up of one or more individuals with eligible immigration status and one or more individuals without are known as "mixed-status" families. Rental subsidies offered to mixed-status households are prorated to cover only the eligible members of the household.