A housing program in Michigan is offering eligible refugees $500 per month, or $6,000 over a 12-month period, as a means of streamlining social integration.
The Newcomer Rental Subsidy program, offered through the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO), provides refugees and other U.S. newcomers monies based on immigration status and household income.
“Many refugees and other newcomers face critical housing challenges, and this program will increase access to better and more affordable housing opportunities while supporting a more rapid social integration to refugees and other newcomer populations to Michigan,” the LEO website states.
Newsweek reached out to the department via phone and email for comment.
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Beneficiaries of these subsidies are eligible based on status defined by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which includes the following:
- Refugees
- Asylees
- Special Immigration Visa (SIV)
- Victims of human trafficking
- Cuban and Haitian entrants
- Afghan nationals
- Ukrainian humanitarian parolees
In terms of income and housing eligibility, applicants must be renting properties or are part of households experiencing instability. They must also be one of the following:
- Under 85 percent of the Federal Poverty Limit.
- Live in a Qualified Census Tract area.
- Have an income at or below 60 percent of Area Median Income (AMI) and receive any of the federal assistance including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Free and Reduced-Price Lunch (NSLP) and/or School Breakfast (SBP) programs, Medicare Part D Low-income Subsidies, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), etc.
The program also offers subsidies individuals who arrived under the Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan (CHNV) program, as well as the Family Reunification Parole Process for El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Colombia.
Individuals with a pending asylum application will be determined if applicable on a case-by-case basis.
In 2023, the CHNV parole program provided more than 325,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela with pathways for safety and family reunification efforts in the U.S.
Earlier this month, the Biden administration was legally successful when a Texas district court judge ruled in its favor and against multiple states who filed a motion last year challenging the legality of the CHNV program.
In Minnesota, Democratic officials earlier this month unveiled a plan to provide $500 monthly payments for 18 to 24 months “to eligible recipients in order to disrupt poverty, build wealth, advance equity, and support a recipient’s basic needs.” Illegal immigrants were included among those who could receive funding as part of the statewide guaranteed basic income plan.
Rental price hikes have cooled after a spike during the pandemic years though home prices have surged in a number of hot spots across the country.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.