Last week, as housing nonprofits awaited promised federal grants — held up since President Donald Trump took office — a vague but harsh contract was sent from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Based on a slew of the president’s executive orders, the agreement specifically prohibits funds from being used on any activities that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion; “gender ideology”; elective abortions; and “sanctuary” immigration policies.
Even though HUD had already set aside $3.6 billion of aid to organizations it vetted last year, the message was clear: If you are involved in those activities, your contract will be terminated.
Providers serving transgender women, LGBTQ youth, and families with undocumented immigrants, among others, would be targeted.
A lawsuit challenging the “anti-DEI” executive orders argues that they are not only an unlawful overreach of power but are too vague and arbitrary to enforce.
A Feb. 21 District Court ruling temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s ability to enforce the orders, but an appeal reversed that decision last week. Attorneys from Asian Americans Advancing Justice, who are representing the plaintiffs against the federal government, said they are prepared to challenge the orders up to the Supreme Court.
“The ‘Yes you can, no you can’t’ back and forth is creating a massive interpretation problem,” said Geoff Green, CEO of CalNonprofits, an advocacy organization representing the nonprofit network across the state. “Nonprofits are businesses as well, and whenever revenue comes into question, important work is going to stop.”
According to federal spending data, HUD has about $644 million in active housing grants in San Francisco.
Of that, the city is set to receive $56 million this year for 35 homelessness assistance projects under HUD’s Continuum of Care program, an annual grant since 1994. The funds are meant to help organizations that assist vulnerable populations in achieving long-term housing stability.
San Francisco’s Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing confirmed that it has not received this money or any update on the timing of its arrival.
Amid the uncertainty surrounding the legality of Trump’s executive orders, HUD abruptly rescinded its latest CoC contract Friday, but the damage had already been done, according to Sen. Adam Schiff, who is leading the Democratic Party’s effort to block the administration’s anti- DEI and trans language from future CoC agreements.
“You have a responsibility to ensure that federal housing policies are guided by evidence-based practices — not by ideological efforts that exclude certain populations from receiving life-saving and life-changing assistance,” Schiff wrote in a letter to HUD Secretary Scott Turner, asking for the federal agency to release the funding immediately.
HUD did not respond to a request for comment. On Wednesday, the department released an amended version of the contract which did not mention “DEI” or “sanctuary” immigration policies.
The new contract, did however, prohibited the promotion of “gender ideology,” elective abortions, or the protection of illegal aliens.
The San Francisco city attorney’s office is “aware of and monitoring” the situation, according to a spokesperson, and is working with the mayor’s office and other departments to evaluate legal options for programs affected by Trump’s executive orders.
Jennifer Dolin, CEO of the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corp., said the housing nonprofit is “deeply concerned about any changes to HUD that could undermine our ability to provide stable housing for formerly unhoused individuals and families.”
In the current round of approved CoC grants, Dolin’s group was awarded $1.1 million for the construction of a 70-unit affordable housing project at 180 Jones St., among other projects. Federal funds are routed through the Homelessness Department, which then reimburses grantees for approved expenses.
“For many, an affordable home at TNDC is the difference between housing and homelessness,” Dolin said. “We urge policymakers to protect these vital resources.”