The State of Michigan has begun offering up to $500 a month to residents who offer to house migrants in their residence.
This new program, the “Newcomer Rental Subsidy,” is meant to provide “rental assistance” for up to 12 months for those who apply and are eligible to host migrants in their homes.
The Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) wrote in a press release that those housed must also be employed or in an employment program.
Additionally, the authority stated that households eligible to host people would receive between $300 and $500 monthly, with $4 million being set aside for the Office of Global Michigan to manage over the next two years.
Those eligible to be hosted include alleged refugees, asylees, victims of human trafficking, Cuban and Haitian entrants, Afghan nationals, Ukrainian humanitarian parolees, and those with a Special Immigration Visa.
In the agency’s press release, Amy Hovey, executive director of the MSHDA, said the new program was “truly a win-win” because it will help migrants by “meeting housing needs while setting up families for success with increased employment and opportunity.”
“In line with the Statewide Housing Plan, one of our key goals at MSHDA is to increase access to safe and affordable housing across Michigan for everyone — including those seeking to build a new life here,” she added.
This new program comes as the United States continues to deal with an ongoing crisis along the southern border caused by a significant influx of unlawful migrants crossing into the country.
Multiple cities have now proposed housing these migrants with residents. Jon Ewing, a Denver Human Services spokesperson, said his city “put out a feeler” with landlords to see whether they would be willing to house such migrants.
“Basically said, listen, we’re going to have some newcomers who are going to need housing,” Ewing said, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Similarly, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in June that the city may implement a housing program that will help put taxpayer money “back in the pockets of everyday New Yorkers.”
“There are residents who are suffering right now because of economic challenges. They have spare rooms, they have locales,” Adams explained.
Adams’ comments came shortly after he expressed concern that the influx of unlawful migrants in the city would lead to a “financial tsunami.”
