LatinoJustice Obtained Data from Trump Administration Confirming HUD Proposed Rule Was Cruel Family Separation Policy
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Release
February 11, 2021
Contacts:
Elianne Ramos | Chief Communications Officer | [email protected] | 212.739.7513
Sarai Bejarano | Manager of Traditional & Digital Media | [email protected] | 212-739-7581
Data Obtained from Trump Administration Confirm Misgivings that the Dept. of Housing & Urban Development’s Mixed Status Proposed Rule Was A Cruel Family Separation Policy
New York, NY - LatinoJustice PRLDEF recently obtained records from the Trump Administration’s U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD), which reveal that Latinx households comprise 90% of families with mixed citizenship and immigrant status living in tenant assisted housing. In 2019, the Trump Administration proposed a rule that would have required these families to either have undocumented members of their households move out or the entire family would face eviction. LatinoJustice strongly opposed the rule on several grounds, see attached comments, including that the rule violated the constitutional right to familial integrity as interpreted by the Supreme Court in Moore v. City of East Cleveland (1977).
The data reported here, which LatinoJustice obtained after filing a lawsuit against HUD to compel production of documents requested under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) confirmed skepticisms that the Administration’s motivation for proposing the rule was fueled by its demagoguery of and racial animus toward Latinx immigrant communities. The data also revealed that there was a steady decline in the number of Latinx mixed status households in rental housing during the Trump era.
The international law firm Winston & Strawn LLP joined LatinoJustice as pro bono co-counsel in filing the FOIA litigation, which is still pending in the Federal District for the Southern District of New York. Winston & Strawn’s Law & Empirical Analysis team analyzed the data obtained from HUD.
LatinoJustice is pleased that the Biden Administration has placed a moratorium on promulgation of new rules. LatinoJustice calls on the Biden Administration, upon its review, to rescind the prior administration’s proposed draconian and cruel family separation in housing policy.
For further information about the data, please contact LatinoJustice Senior Counsel Fran Fajana at [email protected].
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About LatinoJustice
LatinoJustice PRLDEF works to create a more just society by using and challenging the rule of law to secure transformative, equitable and accessible justice, by empowering our community and by fostering leadership through advocacy and education. For more information about LatinoJustice, visit www.latinojustice.org