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A Texas town may offer a preview of a Trump plan to force noncitizens from public housing
Residents fled after a mistaken letter warned households to prove legal status or lose housing, and occupancy fell from 91% to 43%, officials said.
A bungled letter from the Port Isabel Housing Authority triggered a mass exodus in Port Isabel, Texas, a community of 5,000, turning the neighborhood into a ghost town within weeks.
The Port Isabel Housing Authority sent the letter after indicating a Trump proposal would end housing assistance to families with at least one ineligible member was about to take effect.
Residents faced eviction threats, prompting families to leave homes of nearly a decade; one mother moved her children into a trailer, paying about $500 more per month in rent.
Advocates estimate up to 80,000 people could be displaced nationwide under the measure, while the New York City Council warned the rule will "unequivocally lead to increased displacement, homelessness, poverty."
Although the proposed rule from HUD still has not taken effect, it is almost certain to face legal challenges as the rule drew more than 16,000 public comments.