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The survey results were harsh. In one survey, the U.S. Agency for Housing and Urban Development concluded that state agencies in Texas had led $1 billion in disaster mitigation funds from Houston and nearby communities of colour after Hurricane Harvey flooded the area in 2017.
This episode amounted to a terrible violation of the Civil Rights Act, and housing officials believed it was sufficient to justify the suit against the alleged perpetrator. At least that was Joe Biden’s view during his presidency. HUD took quiet steps after the Trump administration took over, but according to three officials familiar with the issue, it is likely that HUD will kill both cases.
These steps were very unusual. Current and former HUD officials said they could not recall the housing agency that brought back cases of this magnitude where the agency found evidence of discrimination. It leaves behind many years of well-known investigations to the extent that the government could potentially move them forward, current and former officials said. As a result, alleged perpetrators of discrimination could not face government penalties, and the suspected victims could not receive compensation.
“I think that’s a shame for Doggone,” said Doris Brown, a Houston resident and co-founder of a community group that filed Harvey’s complaints along with the housing nonprofit. Brown said three feet of water flooded her home mostly in the black neighborhood, causing damage from the storm. “We could have made more money to help those who are still struggling,” she said.
On January 15th, HUD introduced the Houston case to the Department of Justice. This is a necessary step into a federal lawsuit after housing agencies find evidence of discrimination. Less than a month later, on February 13th, the agency cancelled its introduction without any public explanation. HUD did the same thing in the Dallas incident soon.
The development has warned several times about the rollback of civil rights enforcement at the agency under President Donald Trump from Texas and HUD secretary Scott Turner. “The new administration is systematically dismantling fair housing enforcement and education systems,” said former HUD official and lawyer Sarah Pratt in both cases in Texas. “The message is: The federal government is no longer taking housing discrimination seriously.”
HUD spokesman Kasey Lovett opposed, saying there was a precedent for rescinded referrals that were made to gather more facts and scrutinise the investigation. “We look at the Biden administration’s policies, regulations and cases, and these cases are no exception,” Lovett said in a statement. “HUD supports the Fair Housing Act and the Civil Rights Act, and the sector is strongly and sincerely opposed to housing discrimination.”
The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment.
The Harvey lawsuit concerns part of the $4.3 billion grant HUD gave to Texas after the hurricane flooded low-lying coastal areas, killing at least 89 people and causing more than $100 billion in damages. The funding was intended to fund better drainage, flood control systems and other storm mitigation measures.
HUD sent money to a state agency called the Texas General Land Office. It awarded the first $1 billion in funding to communities affected by Harvey through the grant race. However, the state agency excluded Houston and many of the most exposed coastal areas from half the money eligibility, according to a HUD study. And for the other half, they created a standard for awards that benefit rural areas at the expense of more populous applicants like Houston.
Results: Of the first billion dollars, Houston (almost half of every home was damaged by hurricanes) received nothing. Not so did Harris County, where Houston is located, or other coastal areas with a large portion of ethnic minorities. Instead, according to the HUD, Texas awarded disproportionate assistance to more rural white areas that suffered less damage from the hurricane. After the protest, Glo asked HUD to send $750 million to Harris County a few days later, but found that HUD was far below the county’s mitigation needs. And none of the money was sent directly to Houston.
HUD began investigating the competition in 2021, eventually discovering that GLO was discriminated against based on race and national origin, thereby violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and perhaps the Fair Housing Act.
“Glo intentionally developed and operated the competition with the aim of allocating funds to reduce the risk of storms and floods, infiltrating more rural areas from black and Hispanic communities in the city, increasing the risk of higher storms and floods and with less risk,” the agency wrote. “In spite of the perception that that series of actions would cause different harm to black and Hispanic individuals, Glo still denied that these communities intentionally deny any significant mitigation funds.”
GLO has consistently challenged allegations. Many people of color claim to have benefited from that assignment. The Texas agency also argued that the evidence in the case was weak, citing the fact that the Department of Justice returned it to HUD in 2023. At the time, the DOJ said he hoped HUD would do more research. The housing agency then spent over a year digging deeper into the facts and gathering more evidence before bringing out the short-lived introduction in January.
GLO spokesman Brittany Eck told Propublica: “Liberal political appointees and supporters have spent years spinning false narratives without the fact that they construct cases.
Other HUD cases involved Providence Village, a predominantly white community in northern Dallas, with around 9,000 people. The Providence Homeowners Association, which has been allegedly concerned about the value of the property, began adopting rules in 2022 that prohibit property owners from renting to holders of Section 8 housing selection vouchers. At least 157 households were supported by vouchers in Providence Village, almost all of which were black families. After the HOA action some of them began to leave.
The rules attracted the attention of the public and led the Texas Legislature to prohibit the HOA from banning Section 8 tenants. The Undeterred Providence HOA adopted amendment rules in 2024, imposing restrictions on rental properties.
Through the HOA efforts, people have pasted community social media groups with racist vitriols about voucher holders, and praised them as “wild animals,” “people of spirituality riding on ghetto poverty crimes,” and “Leeching Tr@Sh.” One wrote, “They might just leave in the coroner’s wagon.”
The discrepancy fascinated a group of white nationalist groups, which protested twice just outside the village of Providence. “The federal government sees safe white communities as an issue,” reads the flyer distributed by the group. “Section 8 housing vouchers are tools used to bring diversity to these areas.”
In January, HUD formally denounced the HOA, the directors’ directors, real estate management companies, and one of the property managers for violating the Fair Housing Act. Respondents are disputing the claim. The HOA argues that the rules are intended to protect property values, support care homes, and address criminal concerns. Property management company FirstService Residential Texas said it is not responsible for the actions of the HOA.
The HOA and FirstService did not respond to requests for comment. The property manager declined to comment. “HUD did not pursue this lawsuit because there is nothing to pursue. The claims are baseless and unfounded,” said Mitch Little, an attorney for the HOA board chairman.
The cases in Providence Village and Houston have grown for years. All it took was two concise emails to get them back together. “HUD’s Legal Advisory Office has withdrawn the introduction to the case with the above caption to the Department of Justice,” HUD wrote to Pratt this month about one of the cases. “There is no more information at this time,” that was the whole message. Neither email explains the reasons behind the decision.
The case could have been a victim of a broader rollback of civil rights enforcement at the Department of Justice, where Memo ordered a freeze on civil rights lawsuits and investigations in January.
The development is the latest indication that the Trump administration can dramatically reduce HUD’s housing discrimination efforts. The agency cancelled 78 grants to local fair housing groups last month, sparking lawsuits by some of them. HUD justified the cancellation by saying each grant “no longer affects program goals or agency priorities.” (Platt’s company Relman Colfax represents the plaintiffs in that case.) And forecasts circulating within HUD last month show that the agency’s fair Housing Bureau and equal opportunity could be reduced by 76% under the new administration.
If HUD does not pursue the case, the petitioner may file his or her case. But they may not forget their faces on government issues anytime soon. “If a massive flood in Houston causes people to die and almost certainly destroy their homes, those who made this decision will be largely responsible,” said Ben Hirsch, a member of the group that brought Harvey’s complaints. “This is why people will die.”
