Immigrant integration: A new PRRAC report by Martha Bottia takes a different look at what is commonly known as “immigrant integration” – the inclusion of new immigrants in American society – and its relation to housing and school segregation of immigrant families. See Immigrant Integration and Immigrant Segregation: The Relationship Between School and Housing Segregation and Immigrants’ Futures in the U.S.
Strength in Diversity Act released! Lead co-sponsors Senator Chris Murphy (CT) and Representative Marcia Fudge (OH) have released an innovative school integration bill that would competitively fund local school integration planning efforts around the country, including cooperation among school districts to support two-way racial and economic school integration. PRRAC and NCSD are proud to support the Strength in Diversity Act, along with many other civil rights and educational organizations. See the official press release here.
Targeting vulnerable families: HUD has released a draft rule stating its intent to bar or evict residents without eligible immigration status from public and certain other assisted housing programs – including any non-elderly household member living with their family in a HUD-subsidized unit. The rule would be a punitive strike against the many “mixed status” families who currently rely on such housing as provided by statute, separating these families or potentially leaving them homeless. The proposed rule stems from the Trump Administration’s Executive Order 13828, seeking to curtail benefits to immigrants, and provides that all household members must submit proof of eligible status and that the leaseholder must be eligible from the outset of assistance.
Other updates and resources
Removing barriers: The fate of the destructive I-81 overpass in Syracuse, which we profiled in our field report, “Deconstructing Segregation in Syracuse” (May 2018) has finally been decided by the NY State Department of Transportation – the highway will be demolished and replaced with a tree-lined boulevard which is intended to reconnect previously isolated neighborhoods from downtown.
Realtors stepping up: More and more realtors in Pasadena are becoming “Public School Certified” and learning to accurately represent the assets of the local schools as a value added for their clients – a program we reported on last year.
Targeted Universalism: For anyone who wants a good introduction to this essential tool for equity analysis and planning, the Haas Institute has just published Targeted Universalism: Policy & Practice: A Primer, by john powell, Stephen Menendian, and Wendy Ake (Haas Institute, May 2019).
