Politics
NEW: Trump Admin Sues Blue City Over Race-Based Housing Discrimination
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that its Office for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) has launched an investigation into certain housing practices implemented by the City of Boston over alleged racial discrimination in housing.
The investigation focuses on policies described as “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” (DEI) initiatives, which HUD alleges may violate the Fair Housing Act and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by incorporating race-based preferences.The notification to the City of Boston was issued recently, following a prior letter from HUD expressing concerns that the city was using federal grant assistance in ways that include prohibited race-based preferences.
Examples include efforts under the city’s Fair Housing Assessment to target homebuyer outreach specifically at Black and “Latinx” families. This involves the Mayor’s Office of Housing, the Boston Planning Department, and the Boston Housing Authority collecting racial and ethnic data to evaluate programs through a racial equity and social justice perspective.
In addition, HUD pointed to the “Boston Housing Strategy 2025,” which sets a goal that at least 65 percent of home-buying opportunities through city initiatives should go to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) households. The strategy emphasizes providing financial housing assistance particularly to BIPOC individuals at the expense of white residents.
The investigation stems from HUD’s review of the city’s use of federal funds and its housing strategies. Links to the notification letter and related documents were provided in the announcement. Actions taken fall in line with HUD’s enforcement responsibilities under federal civil rights laws prohibiting discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, national origin, and other protected characteristics.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu speaks at a campaign event in 2021
“We believe the City of Boston has engaged in a social engineering project that intentionally advances discriminatory housing policies driven by an ideological commitment to DEI rather than merit or need,” said HUD Secretary Scott Turner.
“HUD is committed to protecting every American’s civil rights and will thoroughly investigate the City’s stated goal of ‘integrating racial equity into every layer of city government.’ This warped mentality will be fully exposed, and Boston will come into full compliance with federal anti-discrimination law.”
Michelle Wu, Boston’s far-left mayor, refused to condemn the city’s racially discriminatory policies and instead framed the complaint as “unhinged attacks from Washington.”
She added, “Boston will never abandon our commitment to fair and affordable housing, and we will defend our progress to keep Bostonians in their homes.”
The HUD investigation comes as the Justice Department continues to investigate race-based hiring discrimination allegations in a number of states, including California. Just last week, the DOJ’s Civil Rights division filed a lawsuit against the city of Minneapolis over commitments to prioritizing the hiring of “BIPOC” teachers over white candidates.
