Keep Families Together
- Elisa Harrigan
- Feb 23
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 16
On February 19, HUD released a proposed rule that would ban mixed-status households from receiving HUD assistance, preventing many immigrant families—including eligible U.S. citizens—from accessing critical housing supports.
With support from partners, FHO created a funder resource outlining strategies to mitigate the impacts of the proposed HUD mixed-status family ban.
Statement from FHO Policy Strategist Elisa Harrigan on the proposed rule change:
"The administration’s newly released mixed-status housing ban represents one of the most severe rollbacks of housing support for immigrant communities in decades. This policy would strip vital assistance from more than 80,000 people and up to 25,000 households. The rule change would primarily impact people of color and children, undermining their educational continuity, health, and long-term development. If the rule change moves forward, families will be confronted with impossible choices: lose the housing support that keeps them stable or separate from loved ones in order to remain eligible.
Combined with heightened immigration enforcement and the growing climate of fear across immigrant neighborhoods, mixed-status families are navigating unprecedented threats, instability, and barriers to accessing basic services. Many of the people who will be harmed by this rule call the United States home and have been part of our communities for years, contributing to local economies, schools, and civic life. The rule would push thousands into crisis, forcing families to face separation, eviction, and displacement at a time when homelessness is already at its highest point in recorded history. Communities are not equipped to absorb a sudden increase in homelessness of this scale, particularly without additional resources and planning.
Immigrants make our communities stronger. They contribute, innovate, and give back, especially when they have the chance to put down roots and succeed. As the richest and most powerful nation in the world, our country has both the resources and the responsibility to ensure that every family, regardless of immigration status, has the stability to thrive.
As funders, we can take action by investing in early intervention and flexible funding so communities can prepare for and prevent displacement, alongside the ability to rapidly deploy emergency resources when families are pushed into crisis.
Protecting immigrant families is essential to the health, strength, and future of all our communities."
Take Action to Keep Families Together
Join a public comment letter from funders and philanthropy-serving organizations opposing HUD’s proposed rule, organized by FHO, Funders Together for Housing Justice, and Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees.
Keep Families Together is a campaign led by the National Housing Law Project and Protecting Immigrant Families. Through advocacy, organizing, legal analysis, research, and narrative change, the Keep Families Together campaign is protecting immigrants and tenants and keeping families whole and housed.
Submit Public Comment to Oppose the Rule Change: Alliance for Housing Justice and a coalition of organizations created a portal to make submitting your public comment easy.
Rapid Response Funding: FHO is available to talk with funders about how to strategically mobilize resources in response to emerging federal threats to housing stability for mixed-status families, low-income renters, people experiencing homelessness, and communities of color. FHO also has a Meet the Moment Fund, which enables the quick deployment of flexible resources for legal aid, eviction prevention, emergency rental assistance, and community-based partners.
Interested in contributing or coordinating with other funders? Contact FHO Executive Director Jeanne Fekade-Sellassie:jeanne@housingisopportunity.org.
