ST. PAUL, Minn. — On Wednesday, March 12, Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid (MMLA) announced that the US Department of Housing and Urban Development had canceled a Fair Housing Initiatives Program grant that funds MMLA’s program providing legal help to Minnesotans facing housing discrimination or sexual harassment from landlords. This announcement comes on the heels of reporting by the Associated Press that around half of the 162 Fair Housing Initiatives Program grants are being canceled.
House Housing Finance and Policy Committee co-chair Representative Michael Howard (DFL-Richfield) and Senate Housing and Homelessness Prevention chair Senator Lindsey Port (DFL-Burnsville) and vice chair Senator Liz Boldon (DFL-Rochester) release the following statement:
“With sledgehammers and scalpels, President Trump and Elon Musk are hollowing out our civil rights defenses and shoving the US back toward our past of legal segregation and harassment. They do this in the name of cutting costs, but all they do is to enrich themselves and their cronies. We are furious at the cancelation of this critical funding that directly protects Minnesota renters from housing discrimination. This action will lead to more abuse of vulnerable tenants, evictions, housing instability and homelessness. The DFL has spent years strengthening and investing in Minnesota’s housing programs, and we continue to do so in the face of these unjust federal rollbacks. Now, the federal lawmakers enabling Trump and Musk must step in as well to stop this callous destruction.”
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