HUD First Term Report Card Part II: In January, we gave HUD an “incomplete” for its unfinished work in addressing the legacy of segregation in HUD housing programs during the Obama Administration’s first term. In this followup report, we joined with the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and the National Fair Housing Alliance to look at the enforcementside of HUD’s efforts to “affirmatively further fair housing” among its grantees – and we found a much more proactive agency. But even here, there is much unfinished business – read the full report here.
“Perspectives on Immigration Enforcement,” from the March-April issue of Poverty & Race: Conservative demands for stronger “immigration enforcement” continue to undermine the immigration policy reform debate, in spite of the fact that the current administration has engaged in stronger and more excessive enforcement than its predecessor. Two articles in our new issue, by PRRAC Research Fellow Silva Mathema and Angela Duger of the Harvard School of Public Health, look at the harsh impacts of immigration enforcement in a local community, and set out principles for a more humane system.
Other news and resources
Housing Mobility in Chicago: Kudos to NPR’s “Marketplace” program for their story titled “Changing Neighborhoods Can Change Your Life“, about a housing mobility program run by Housing Choice Partners under a contract with the Chicago Housing Authority. The NPR reporter went the extra mile, sitting in on client briefings and conducting interviews with program clients.This kind of story demonstrates why and how housing mobility matters – and does so more effectively than reports on the latest “MTO” research. Listen here.
Implicit Bias Science: A new resource from the Kirwan Institute, State of the Science Implicit Bias Review 2013, seeks to expand knowledge about the cognitive forces that can influence individual behavior without our awareness and contribute to societal inequities.
Impacts of the Sequester: In spite of certain protections for low income families that were included in the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act (the “sequester”), the cuts are having a harsh and disproportionate impact on the poorest Americans, particularly in housing – and the impacts are just beginning. The National Low Income Housing Coalition has put together a helpful page of resources here – and the Center on Budget & Policy Priorities has a detailed state by state analysis of housing impacts here.
