ACLU Comment on Biden’s Executive Order on Fair Housing

WASHINGTON — President Biden issued an executive order today directing the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to address systemic racism in housing by enforcing the Fair Housing Act and redressing the previous administration’s policies that undermined fair housing laws.

The ACLU has a pending lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s disparate impact rule. The ACLU has previously sued HUD to challenge its rollbacks of the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule.

Below is a comment from Sandra Park, senior staff attorney at the ACLU, in response:

“Systemic racism is deeply rooted in our country’s institutions, including housing. We commend the Biden administration for calling on HUD to address the discrimination and barriers marginalized communities face to housing access. All people — regardless of their circumstances or background — should have equal access to fair housing. The Biden administration must restore these critical tools needed to dismantle residential segregation and other forms of housing discrimination that lock out marginalized communities from housing opportunities.

“The Trump-led HUD rolled back a 2013 disparate impact rule protecting people harmed by policies that disproportionately injure people of color, women, people with disabilities, and other marginalized groups who face barriers to housing. Similarly, the 2015 Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule was one important step to address systemic racism in housing, but the Trump administration gutted the rule before it could be effectively implemented. Reinstating both rules will lay a critical foundation for fair housing for all.”