FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Melissa Stek, communications consultant, melissa@mountgem.com
Tom Salyers, Director of Communications, tsalyers@clasp.org
Washington, DC, April 21, 2026—Today, the Children Thrive Action Network (CTAN) submitted a public comment to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in response to a proposed rule that would eliminate the right of mixed-status families—that is, families with members who have differing immigration statuses—to continue living together in HUD-assisted housing. If implemented, the harms of this rule would be especially acute for children, affecting their development, health, education, well-being, and long-term potential.
In the comment submitted today, the 101 signing organizations write:
The proposed rule threatens to terminate housing assistance for almost 80,000 low-income people, including 37,000 children, most of whom are U.S. citizens or otherwise “qualified” noncitizens, and to force the harmful separation or displacement of about 20,000 mixed-status families… [It] would have immediate and far-reaching consequences for children and families by forcing mixed-status households to choose between family unity and housing stability. In doing so, the rule would deny housing assistance to eligible children based solely on the immigration statuses of their family members and place thousands of families at risk of displacement… Rather than advancing policies that destabilize families, HUD should focus on strengthening access to safe, affordable housing and supporting the conditions that allow children and their families to thrive.
Wendy Cervantes, Director of Immigration and Immigrant Families at the Center for Law and Social Policy and Founding Director of CTAN said:
“This proposed rule proves, yet again, that the administration’s attacks on immigrants are attacks on children. At the same time that the administration is tearing families apart or locking them up in family detention camps, they are also denying children access to food assistance, health care, and other basic needs. Barring mixed-status families from housing assistance will force thousands of children and their families into precarious housing situations or homelessness. The ripple effects of this for children will be devastating and far-reaching, from housing instability to developmental delays to future economic disadvantages. With children of immigrants comprising 1 in 4 of all children in the U.S., we as a country will pay the price for this administration’s calculated and cruel anti-child immigration agenda. As over 100 organizations invested in the well-being of our nation’s children, we urge HUD to withdraw this rule and return to its longstanding practice of ensuring all families can access stable, affordable housing.”
