A proposed federal rule change about housing assistance could put 302 Santa Barbara County families at risk of homelessness, officials warn. 

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner has proposed prohibiting households that have both eligible U.S. citizens and ineligible immigrants from receiving federally funded housing assistance or living in federally funded housing.

Turner made the proposal with the goal to make sure that only U.S. citizens or eligible immigrants receive housing benefits. 

Rob Fredericks, executive director of the city of Santa Barbara Housing Authority, warns that if the proposal became reality, homelessness in Santa Barbara would get worse and already long wait lists for Section 8 housing would grow.

“I hate to say it, because I don’t want to see it happen, but I think we’re going to see increased homelessness in our communities,” Fredericks said. “And we don’t have the capacity to carry any more unhoused people in the community. We can’t help those who are already unhoused.”

Santa Barbara County has 302 mixed-status families, including 587 children receiving housing assistance, he said.

Just in the city of Santa Barbara, there are 148 mixed-status families, which include 252 children. Of the 148 households, 56 have no eligible adults, according to Fredericks.

If the rule became reality, Fredericks said families would have to face the choice of separating or becoming homeless. 

Under the current law, which has been around for decades, mixed-status families are allowed in federal housing programs if the rent is prorated, meaning assistance is only provided for eligible members of the household. 

For example, a family of four with one ineligible member would only get 75% of their government aid, instead of the full benefit — meaning if the rule were changed, Fredericks said, the government would actually be paying more in housing assistance. 

If HUD does move forward, Fredericks recommended that existing families be grandfathered in so they don’t lose housing. 

“It should just be on a prospective basis for new applicants and new households, so we don’t negatively impact people who are already living in the community and trying to get by on a day-to-day basis,” Fredericks said. “I just can’t imagine what these kids must be going through at any given moment. They could be without a home, without a parent.”

Earlier this month, the Santa Barbara City Council voted to send a letter to HUD opposing the rule change. 

“Mixed-status families are our constituents and neighbors, federal law already contains the policy the proposed rule is attempting to codify, and implementation would be costly for local governments like ours,” the letter stated. “For these reasons, we urge HUD to withdraw the proposed rule.”

Councilmember Kristen Sneddon asked the city to go beyond the letter, working with other jurisdictions and housing authorities and potentially joining a class action lawsuit to fight against the rule change.

“We may be looking at what we have to do to close that gap somehow,” Sneddon said. “I know we’re in difficult times, but to be really looking at not just accepting that 252 children could be at risk.”

Councilmember Eric Friedman said it was important that the city to take a stance on the issue early on. 

“We don’t want to be in a position later on where hundreds of individuals, including families, children, many of them are U.S. citizens who will be facing homelessness,” Friedman said. “It’s not just the undocumented, it’s everybody who are living in those households, whether they have documentation status or not.”

While nothing has changed yet, Fredericks recommends that mixed-status families talk to their housing authority case worker who can help navigate them through the process. 

The federal register is accepting public comments about this until April 21. Click here to submit a public comment.