Michigan is offering a monthly subsidy of $500 to citizens willing to shelter illegal aliens and refugees. The ‘Newcomer Rental Subsidy’ is applicable for up to a year, with a maximum of $6000 per participating household.
Potential beneficiaries of the scheme include special immigration visa holders, asylum seekers, refugees, victims of human trafficking, Afghan nationals, Cubans and Haitians, Ukrainian humanitarian parolees, and more. Moreover, individuals processed through the ‘Family Reunification Parole Process’ from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Colombia, and those with pending asylum applications, are also eligible under this initiative.
The program is backed by $4 million in funding from the Michigan Housing and Community Development Fund. Amy Hovey, Executive Director of the State Housing Development Authority, said the program was designed to help migrants “build a new life here.”
“This program is truly a win-win, as it addresses the most pressing barrier to refugee resettlement by meeting housing needs while setting up families for success with increased employment and opportunity,” Hovey said in a statement.
Michigan’s scheme follows earlier attempts by the state to convince citizens to pick up migrants from airports and host them in their homes. It comes as states across the country are struggling to afford to house the increasing illegal population. Denver, Colorado recently begged its property owners to begin housing migrants.
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