Thousands of mixed-status California families could lose housing under proposed federal rule

The Weekly Dispatch

Community-powered immigration news from the Bay Area.

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Welcome to El Tímpano’s Weekly Dispatch. I’m Erica Hellerstein, senior immigration, labor, and economics reporter.

For the past year, this newsletter has tracked the local impacts of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, often focusing on policies and ICE tactics targeting undocumented immigrants.

But the consequences rarely stop there. They also ripple outward to the U.S.-born children and relatives who live in the same households. 

Today, we’re unpacking a newly proposed federal housing policy that takes direct aim at these families, threatening housing stability for thousands of Californians.

The proposal dates to February 19, when the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released a long-expected proposed rule that, if enacted, would bar families with mixed immigration statuses from accessing federally subsidized housing assistance. Immigrant and housing advocates say a change of this magnitude would be catastrophic for families nationwide, potentially causing tens of thousands of people to be evicted from their homes, with the largest concentration of at-risk families in California.

It’s happening at a time when mixed-status households are already under significant strain, not just from ramped-up ICE enforcement but from sweeping cuts to safety-net programs at both the state and federal level.

What the proposed rule would change

The proposal did not come out of the blue. HUD proposed a very similar rule toward the end of Trump’s first term in 2019, but the coronavirus pandemic diverted the agency’s attention before the policy could be finalized. As Marie Claire Tran-Leung, a senior staff attorney with the National Housing Law Project, explained, the administration “just simply ran out of time.” The proposal was later withdrawn under the Biden administration, which led to Trump 2.0’s revival of the rule last month.

The proposed HUD rule would prohibit households with undocumented family members from living in federally subsidized housing. It would require every person living in households receiving federal housing assistance to prove their citizenship status or verify that they are an eligible noncitizen (such as a refugee, asylee, or lawful permanent resident). Those unable to do so could be evicted from HUD-supported programs, such as Section 8 vouchers and public housing.

Undocumented immigrants are already ineligible for federal rental aid. However, families with mixed immigration status can still live together in HUD housing as long as at least one family member is a U.S. citizen or an eligible noncitizen. Housing assistance is then prorated based on how many household members are eligible.

The proposed rule would change that: mixed-status families would no longer be allowed to live in HUD-supported housing. In practice, that could force some families to choose between housing assistance and staying together.

Advocates say the policy could force families into difficult choices: giving up rental assistance and risking homelessness; staying and risking eviction; or splitting up so eligible members can continue receiving housing aid.

“It really destabilizes the entire family if they were to lose that assistance,” said Monica Davalos, a senior policy analyst with the California Budget & Policy Center.

The potential scale of the change is significant. Nationwide, about 80,000 people in over 20,000 households could lose rental assistance and face eviction under the proposal, according to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, including roughly 37,000 U.S. citizen children. Nearly 90% of impacted families are Latino, according to the report.

California stands to be especially impacted. The state has the largest number of mixed-status households in the country receiving HUD support. If the rule is finalized, an estimated 7,190 mixed status families statewide could lose HUD-funded housing and become displaced. The total number of people impacted in California would likely be much larger–potentially up to 30,000 people–given the report’s finding that the typical mixed-status household consists of a family of four.

It’s unclear how many East Bay families might be affected because there is no publicly available data on mixed-status households in HUD-funded housing in Bay Area counties. When HUD proposed the rule under the first Trump administration, however, Los Angeles housing authorities said the change could have pushed more than 11,000 people from their homes.

The policy is open for public comment through April 21. After that, HUD will review the feedback and issue a final rule that is supposed to reflect the concerns raised in the comments.

Tran-Leung said opponents are using the comment period to push back vigorously. “People are trying to fight it as much as possible,” she said. “I don’t think it’s inevitable.”

In the meantime, organizations that work with mixed-status families are emphasizing that the law has not changed yet, and families have the right to stay in their homes. 

“This administration has really tried to get people to self-evict and doesn’t want to do the work they need to do to actually change policy,” Tran-Leung said. “So we’re trying our best to make sure families don’t do that if they don’t need to.”

This latest HUD proposal is part of a broader dynamic unfolding under the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown: policies aimed at undocumented immigrants are also impacting U.S. citizens who live with them.

This shapes the lives of millions of people. According to 2023 data from the California Immigrant Data Portal, 20% of children in California live in mixed-status households. That means one in five lives with an undocumented family member. In Alameda County, more than 86,000 U.S. citizens live in mixed-status households, compared with 67,000 in Contra Costa County.

The immigration crackdown has left many of these families afraid to claim benefits they are entitled to, worried it could expose them to immigration enforcement. The HUD proposal adds yet another layer of precarity for some of these same families.

All of this is happening, Davalos said, as state investments in homelessness and affordable housing reach all-time lows. “There’s stuff that California can do to be a leader,” she said, “but it really takes the state to step up in a lot of ways and to really protect immigrant communities who are being disproportionately impacted right now.”

We’ll keep reporting on this proposed policy and what it could mean for Bay Area families. As always, if you have thoughts or a tip to share, I’d love to hear from you. You can reach me at ehellerstein@eltimpano.org.

That’s all for now. See you next week.

Ear to the Ground

El Tímpano’s text messaging (SMS) service reaches more than 6,500 Spanish-speaking immigrants across the Bay Area. In recent weeks, we’ve noticed an increase in requests for utility assistance from our subscribers, many of whom have reported high energy bills that have become a significant financial burden. Some have asked for help with their electricity bills to help manage the costs, while others are seeking help to reduce their existing debts from past due payments. In response to these concerns, we informed our subscribers about programs that support households facing economic hardship. Here are some of their questions and comments:

Truth is, the minimum wage is no longer enough [to cover utility bills].

—Brentwood resident

I owe more than $3,000. Do I need a social security number to receive assistance?

—Pittsburg resident

Yes, I need help paying my electricity bill because I work very little.

—Oakland resident

[High utility bills] have affected me a lot. We received a really expensive electricity bill.

—Oakland resident

I rent a room, and because I don’t have a rental agreement, I don’t qualify [for this help].

—Oakland resident

From the El Tímpano Newsroom

The Weekly Dispatch is celebrating an exciting milestone: Our one-year anniversary! The Bay Area’s only community-powered immigration newsletter first hit your inbox just over a year ago. Since then, we’re proud to have delivered more than 50 editions featuring original immigration-focused analysis and reporting from a local perspective. To celebrate, take a look through our archives and forward to someone you think might be interested in subscribing.

And in case you missed it, we’re sharing Richmondside’s republication of our article on the wave of mushroom poisonings disproportionately impacting Bay Area immigrants (including one confirmed Contra Costa County death). Sister publications Oaklandside and Berkeleyside also re-published the story.

California

• In the Midnight Hour, the San Fernando record shop at the center of the Valley’s ICE resistance

• Sen. Alex Padilla slams DHS after agency admits deporting 86 DACA recipients 

• He saw an abandoned trailer. Then, he uncovered a surveillance network on California’s border

• Volunteers who accompany immigrants cited while inside federal building’s hallways

National

• Trump’s Latest Deportation Tactic: Targeting Immigrants With Minor Family Court Cases

• Judge rules Trump administration’s policy for “third-country” deportations is unlawful

• Minnesota launches investigation that could bring charges against US immigration officers

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