Deportation Crisis Looms After Biden and Congress Fail to Extend Covid Ban | Biden administration

More than 3.6 million Americans face eviction, some within days, as nearly $ 47 billion in federal housing assistance to states during the pandemic took a long time to reach tenants and of the owners. The moratorium expires at midnight on Saturday.

Tensions mounted late on Friday when it became clear that there would be no resolution. Biden called on local governments to “take all possible steps” to disburse the funds. The evictions could start as early as Monday.

“There can be no excuse that a state or locality does not speed up funds for homeowners and tenants who have been injured during this pandemic,” Biden said. “Every state and every local government must release these funds to ensure that we prevent all possible evictions. “

The astonishing result revealed a rare rift between the president and his allies on Capitol Hill, which could have a lasting impact.

Biden started the rush by announcing that he would allow the ban on deportation to expire, rather than challenging a Supreme Court ruling saying it would be the last deadline. He called on Congress Thursday to quickly extend the date.

Democrats struggled to rally votes early Friday. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi implored her colleagues to pass legislation extending the deadline, calling it a “moral imperative” to protect tenants and landlords.

But after hours of wrangling, Democrats were unable to muster support to extend the ban. An attempt to simply approve an extension by consent, without a formal vote, was blocked by House Republicans. The Senate could try again on Saturday.

Lawmakers were furious at the prospect of evictions amid a burgeoning pandemic.

“Housing is a primary social indicator of health, in and of itself, even in the absence of Covid,” said Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a prominent New York Democrat. “A mass deportation to the United States represents a public health crisis in itself. “

Maxine Waters of California, the chair of the financial services committee that drafted the emergency bill, said House leaders should have held the vote even if it failed, to show Americans that they were trying to fix the problem.

“Is it urgent enough to prevent families from being put on the streets? Waters said in a hastily called hearing on Friday morning. “What the hell is going to happen to these kids?” “

But Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington, the leading Republican on another panel on the issue, said the Democrats’ bill was rushed.

“This is not the way to legislate,” she said.

The ban was put in place to prevent further spread of Covid-19 by people put on the streets and in shelters. Congress paid nearly $ 47 billion to states earlier in the Covid-19 crisis to support landlords and tenants as workplaces closed.

But lawmakers have said state governments have been slow to distribute the money. On Friday, they said only $ 3 billion had been spent.

At the end of March, 6.4 million households were behind on rent, according to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development. As of July 5, about 3.6 million people said they were at risk of deportation over the next two months, according to the US Census Bureau.

Some places are likely to experience spikes in evictions from Monday, while others will see an increase in the number of court cases that will lead to evictions over the months.

Biden said Thursday the administration’s hands were tied after the Supreme Court signaled the moratorium would only be extended until the end of the month. At the White House, Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the administration supported Congress’ effort “to extend the moratorium on evictions in order to protect these vulnerable tenants and their families.”

The White House has made it clear that Biden would have liked to extend the federal moratorium due to the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant. But there are also concerns that the court challenge could lead to a ruling restricting the ability to respond to public health crises.

The administration tries to keep the tenants in place by other means. It released more than $ 1.5 billion in rent assistance in June, which helped nearly 300,000 households. Biden called on the departments of Housing and Urban Development, Agriculture and Veterans Affairs to extend moratoria on federally insured single-family home evictions. In a statement released Friday evening, the agencies announced an extension until the end of September.

In a 5-4 vote last month, the Supreme Court allowed the deportation ban to continue until July. One of the majority members, Brett Kavanaugh, has made it clear that he will block any extension unless there is “clear and specific authorization from Congress.”

Assistants to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio, chair of the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, said the two were working on legislation to to extend the moratorium and asking Republicans not to block it.

“The public health need for extensive tenant protection is obvious,” said Diane Yentel, executive director of the National Low Income Housing Coalition. “If federal court cases made a full scale expansion impossible, the Biden administration should implement all possible alternatives, including a more limited moratorium on federally backed property.”

The owners, who opposed the moratorium and challenged it in court, are against any extension. They also plead for an acceleration in the distribution of rent aid. The National Apartment Association and several others this week filed a federal lawsuit seeking $ 26 billion in damages.

“Any extension of the moratorium on evictions is tantamount to an unfunded government mandate that forces housing providers to provide expensive service without compensation and imposes insurmountable debt on tenants,” said NAA President and CEO Bob Pinnegar , adding that the current crisis highlights a need for more affordable housing.