Housing program partners with group accused of facilitating illegal immigration

A financial aid program for Baltimore renters partners with an organization accused of facilitating illegal immigration into the United States.

The Baltimore City’s Rental Assistance Program, an initiative of the Mayor’s Office of Children and Family Success (MOCFS), reopened for application submissions this month. The project will accept appeals for financial assistance to help cover rent, pay security deposits and prevent evictions through Nov. 19.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott touted the initiative as a revolutionary safety net for residents facing eviction or homelessness.

“Rental assistance like this is a critically important tool to support some of Baltimore’s most vulnerable residents and prevent long-term housing insecurity,” Mayor Scott wrote in a news release. “This relatively short-term assistance can be fundamentally life-changing for the families who receive it. I want to thank the MOCFS and BCCAP teams who make distributing it possible for their caring, diligent work on behalf of Baltimoreans of all walks of life.”

That release noted funding for the program “spans federal, state and local sources, each with its own timeline and income eligibility criteria.” Only Baltimore City residents whose household is at or below 80% of their “Area Median Income” are eligible for aid via the program.

Applicants must also live in rental units registered and licensed with Baltimore City, have a signed lease and provide other documentation, according to the release.

After registering with the program’s online portal, tenants seeking aid are directed to an application asking for information about their housing and income. Before submitting the filing, applicants must agree to a consent form, which grants the city the right to release their information to its third-party partners.

“In order to streamline processing of my application, I understand that any information I provide may be shared with various agencies/ entities partnering with MOCFS,” the form reads. “I designate the entities listed below to be my designees to receive any information I provide.”

Among the organizations listed on that page is CASA, a Latino and immigration advocacy group. CASA recently came under national scrutiny when several Republican lawmakers accused CASA of facilitating illegal immigration. The lawmakers proposed cutting funding to CASA and similar groups.

“[Non-governmental organizations] and non-profits serve as the foot soldiers for the Biden-Harris administration’s mass-migration policies by helping illegal aliens cross the border and stay here for years after illegally,” Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla. wrote. “The federal government should not be financing the destruction of its own country.”

Maryland state Delegate Kathy Szeliga told FOX45 the city’s partnership with CASA appears to be a concerning misuse of taxpayer dollars.

“Government agencies funded by taxpayer dollars must prioritize supporting U.S. citizens,” she wrote. “Governor Wes Moore has highlighted Maryland’s significant housing shortage, with 96,000 units needed. I urge Governor Moore to join me in calling for state and local agencies to focus their efforts on assisting U.S. citizens during this housing crisis.”

When offered the opportunity to respond to Delegate Szeliga’s comment, CASA Executive Director Gustavo Torres did not deny the group seeks to assist non-citizens through its partnership with the city.

“Delegate Szeliga’s statement is a harmful attempt to divide our communities by prioritizing some lives over others,” Torres wrote. “Immigrants, regardless of their citizenship status, contribute to Maryland’s economy, pay taxes, and deserve equal access to housing assistance.”

“Housing is a basic human right, and programs like this are crucial for ensuring every child and family in Baltimore has a safe place to live,” he added. “The housing crisis won’t be solved by scapegoating immigrants — it requires inclusive, compassionate solutions for all.”

CASA National Communications Director Jossie Flor Sapunar told FOX45 the group doesn’t receive funding from the city rental program. She added CASA would not turn away a non-citizen seeking its housing assistance through the partnership.

Representatives of both the Mayor’s Office and MOCFS did not respond to repeated requests for comment from FOX45. A spokesperson for MOCFS told FOX45 to expect a phone call from their office regarding the inquiries Wednesday. That call was never received.

MOCFS received $82 million in federal eviction relief money in 2020, which lasted it until March 2023, according to The Baltimore Sun. Maryland received $750 million in federal emergency rental assistance funds through congressional spending bills passed in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

More than 82,000 Maryland households received emergency rental assistance as of June 2023.

MOCFS did not disclose how much money it is offering in rental assistance, nor the specific sources of the funds. Mayor Scott’s 2021 eviction prevention program offered $2,000 per unit in security deposit payments and a combined $16 million for rental assistance.

FOX45 filed a Public Information Act request with the Baltimore City Mayor’s Office to obtain an itemized budget for the 2024 Rental Assistance Program, which a city attorney promised to answer within the 30-day time requirement.

The news comes as state officials are sounding the alarm over the possibility of an incoming surge of asylum seekers. State Sen. Justin Ready, a Carroll County Republican, condemned Maryland Emergency Management Secretary Russell Strickland this month for staging a drill simulating how officials would respond to an influx of newcomers.

“It sounds to me like the state is thirsty for this to happen,” Sen. Ready said of the potential influx. “They can say it’s a drill but unless it’s about accepting people from North Carolina who have been displaced because of a hurricane, that’s not what state tax dollars should be used for.”

“I would suspect there’s a reasonable probability that something like this will occur,” Delegate Ryan Nawrocki added.

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