TaskForce for Ending Homelessness warns City and County that anti-ICE resolutions may jeopardize $11 million in funding
BY JENNIFER CABRERA
ALACHUA COUNTY, Fla. – Jacob Torner, Vice President for Programs at the TaskForce for Ending Homelessness, has sent versions of the following letter to the City of Gainesville and Alachua County:
“If the County adopts a resolution consistent with what has been requested at recent public meetings regarding generally lawful immigration enforcement, I have concerns that HUD and the federal government could view Alachua County less favorably in the award of critical grants upon which our community relies.
“The current HUD CoC (Continuum of Care) NOFOs (Notices of Funding Opportunities) contain provisions requiring compliance with the Executive Order, Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders, which directs HUD to ensure that funds awarded to communities do not ‘facilitate the subsidization or promotion of illegal immigration, or abet so-called “sanctuary” policies that seek to shield illegal aliens from deportation.’
“Additionally, the NOFOs state, ‘Before making any awards, including renewal awards, HUD will evaluate each applicant’s likelihood of successfully carrying out the project. This assessment helps identify risks that may affect the advancement toward or the achievement of a project’s goals and objectives.’ The NOFO further provides that, as part of this risk evaluation, HUD will look at ‘public sources like news reports.’
“There are already a number of news reports on this topic, with future expected publications given the commission direction in this.
“We are currently pursuing more than $11 million in new and renewal HUD funding through this summer’s Continuum of Care competitions for homeless, domestic violence, and sexual assault programs serving Alachua County and the surrounding rural counties.
“I believe it is appropriate for the County to consider whether the adoption of such a resolution could have unintended consequences for continued and future state and federal funding opportunities that serve as a lifeline for thousands of Alachua County residents who experience homelessness or need to flee domestic violence.”
The county has had the End Poverty in 10 years since 2010 and no where near, in fact, getting worse. End Homelessness is just as much a farse, just more money laundering for those running these programs and the supporters get to say “they love more” BAhahahahaha
What is your solution to the problem?
Oh no, local Dems will be forced to make a Sophie’s Choice! 🤣🤣
Why on earth would these idiots want to blow 11 million on a bunch of hopeless degenerates. You can spend as much as you want without results because those people won’t change their stripes for all the $$$ in the world.
We need safety net services otherwise jails and prisons, the more costly alternatives, will take on that role.
Victims of domestic violence and sexual assault are not “degenerates”.
“Continuum of Care competitions for homeless, domestic violence, and sexual assault programs serving Alachua County and the surrounding rural counties.“
Government by coercion and bullying is wrong. If ICE was following the law this would be moot.
Lawfare (the legal-analysis site run by Benjamin Wittes) built a dedicated “Tracking Government Non-Compliance in Habeas Corpus Cases” tracker. The numbers:
• Launched April 3, 2026 with a report on 300 immigration habeas cases in which the government violated court orders
• Within days, Lawfare added 56 more cases to the database, nearly all from Minnesota, after searching just five jurisdictions, bringing the count past 355
• By April, they’d expanded to roughly 20 jurisdictions and were still adding more
Of course all societies have semi-functioning members due to personal problems that exceed their mental capacity to cope, including drugs. In the past we institutionalized them via arrests or committments to mental hospitals – both more expensive than our current practices nationally – but court decisions dating back to the 1980s made that more difficult.
Those who think this can be solved by new housing or get tough policies are living in a dream world, so our minimalist approach will continue and cost something.
Unfortunately ICE – which if run responsibly, let alone within the law – would be a worthy and importan federal tool. It is none of that however and among other gross acts, murders citizens on the streets and then covers it up, not allowing public investigations or even release of the names of the murderers – the masks are a clue to their lawlessness.
They just killed a 35 year resident of the US in Houston – he has 3 citizen sons and was out at 6:30 AM picking up other workers for his construction job – and are similarly covering up that incident.
Any local government has an obligation to deny ICE access as best they can, until it changes it’s practices. Gainesville doesn’t need more murderers here. If that means higher taxes, oh well. Citizens know who to blame.
The damn illegals came here illegally. I personally do not think they got any rights. They all should be deported if they want to come this country apply for citizenship like everybody else has over the last hundred plus years.
As a matter of fact, not opinion except the SC’s, anyone in the US, citizen or not, has constitutional rights. Educate yourself.
Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, killed by agents of our government while driving to work early Tuesday morning in Houston, was fond of telling his three sons, “Que siempre le echemos ganas en esta vida.” The Washington Post offers this rough translation: Give it your all, and never give up.
This is a Mexican proverb. But who hasn’t heard similar sentiments expressed by other immigrants from other places at other times and in other languages? We native-born Americans often have it relatively easy. We can be quick to grumble when the going gets tough. It’s often our immigrants who remind us that the better response to life’s challenges is unstinting effort and determined perseverance.
It’s often immigrants who remind us about family. Araujo’s son said yesterday that his late father was “a family man” and that yesterday was “the first day without him for all of us, and it is heartbreaking to know that my mom did not make lunch for my dad before going to work—the first time in their 30+ year marriage.” Araujo worked hard throughout his three decades in the United States so that he could support his family and raise their three sons. “He wanted nothing else in life but to provide for his wife and see his sons become great people,” Ronaldo said.
And it’s often from immigrants that we learn about generosity. According to the Post, Araujo was known as someone whose door you could knock on if you were looking for work, and he would help you. “He deserved to live a quiet life as Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a husband, father and a job creator for dozens of men who also wanted the American Dream,” Ronaldo Salgado said.
And it’s from immigrants that we often are reminded about the importance of education. Araujo and his wife had little formal education, but were determined that their three sons would go to college. Ronaldo told The Bulwark’s Adrian Carrasquillo that his father would remind him and his brothers “that we needed to do well in school so we don’t end up like him in the sun.” As Adrian reported, “Ronaldo, 29, graduated from the University of Houston; Lorenzo Jr., 27, from Tufts University; and their youngest brother is in college now.”
It is these young men who are calling for a full and honest investigation into why a peaceful and law-abiding man was killed while driving to work by agents of our government. It is they who are seeking the truth about what happened and asking the public to come forward with any new video or images that might shed light on their father’s death. It is they who are trying to hold our government to American standards of responsiveness and accountability and decency.”
That’s the third murder by ICE agents on our streets with no public investigation, and those involved purposefully hidden by the feds. Any fool knows that police don’t do that, but fools think it’s OK for ICE.
This guy lived here 35 years without incident except sending his 3 sons to college. Mr Petri, the VA nurse, held flag draped memorials for his patients who died and Ms Goode was an artist and mother who’s kid’s stuffed animal was hanging out of her glove compartment when she was shot to death by ICE holes. Without evidence, Trump and the head of DHS immediately smeared these last 2 as deserving to be shot. That’s the kind of immoral and lying sleaze bags who run ICE and our country.
Ruh-roh! Not what they want to hear.
Anyone impeding, opposing, or preventing ICE from performing their duties can help end homelessness—by having their homes seized and given over—but only to those who are legally permitted to be here.
Vote yes to end property taxes. Homelessness is a direct result of high property taxes and taxes on rental property the county and city collect.
Data please for this assertion.
Tato; I’ll give you personal experience… I’m just small potatoes 🥔 and pay $40k in property taxes/yr , & $16k/yr goes to ACSB and I have no children & none in the system…I have probably payed $400k towards educating other peoples kids…
My parents probably payed maybe $20k for my public grade school..I paid my own college with student loans and paid it all back…every time my property tax goes up, I raise the tenants rents…The garbage & waste fees coming off tenants’ utility results in me raising their rents $100/mo come January… l can go on, but will stop right here..
“…could view Alachua County less favorably in the award of critical grants upon which our community relies.”. Allow me to translate: the homeless hustle pays our salaries. We have zero interest in solving the problem. But please don’t do anything that might shut off the spigot of federal dollars that we rely on to fund the new game room edition on our home. We can shuffle homeless people around and never solve the problem, as is our custom. But please, city council, don’t mess with the cash register!
The last thing that Alachua county needs is more Hud housing. Also, The county does not need any Illegals aliens draining valuable resources like: medical, educational, housing, and nutritional benefits, The tax paying Americans are fed up paying for it through higher taxes.
A 30-year Cato Institute analysis found immigrants overall (not just undocumented) consume 24% fewer welfare benefits per capita than native-born Americans, with noncitizens including undocumented people consuming 53% less, and created a cumulative $14.5 trillion fiscal surplus over 30 years. Looking specifically at undocumented immigrants, that same analysis put their net benefit at about $1.7 trillion, largely because they’re excluded from Social Security and Medicare while still paying into those systems
They don’t pay into those systems, as most of them are working under the table, fyi
This will be a very interesting choice. Do the Democratic idiots want the homeless or do they want illegals if I had to guess it would be the homeless it comes money they might be able to wander spend on other things
Count me as an idiot. By my observation, I’d rather have the illegal immigrants; they appear to want to work and there are fewer of them panhandling and committing crimes than there are homeless people.
Case in point, over the past month how many illegal immigrants have you read about here in the Chronicle that have committed crimes compared to members of the homeless population? How many hotels has the county purchased to house immigrants vs homeless people? How many immigrants can be seen panhandling vs the homeless vagrants?
Given Democrats are the majority voting block, it’s no wonder they’re quite accepting of the crime and trash associated with the homeless population.
I think it’s too late for the county & city after Prizzia mentioned their “special status” in public meeting and their anti ICE BS!… the illegals have to go , and now no $11,000,000!
That’s what you get when you try to circumnavigate the law and racketeer! They knew or should have known!
Thanks Prizzia! 😃
Both the city and county commissions should be replaced by DeSantis…there’s enough evidence!
The C.O.C. is NOT the city or county. They are an independent entity that serves as a gatekeeper for HUD funding. A “Continuum of Care” is a local community board or network of nonprofits that coordinates housing and services for individuals experiencing homelessness. In our case the C.O.C. has one main coordinating nonprofit in charge, Keys to Home with the Taskforce for Ending Homelessness. This is a major overreach of that agency’s leadership despite them trying to distance themselves from his choice to send that letter. Fortunately the city and county have their own legal team they can consult. The proposed immigration resolution does not meet the criteria for sanctuary city to begin with. But secondly, the executive branch cannot unilaterally strip housing funds from cities for being immigrant-friendly.
While administrations have repeatedly threatened or attempted to withhold federal dollars to force local cooperation with immigration enforcement, federal courts have consistently blocked them from cutting off agencies like the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The restrictions preventing HUD from taking this funding come down to constitutional guardrails.
1. Congress Controls the Money (Separation of Powers)
Under the U.S. Constitution, Congress—not the President or a cabinet secretary like the head of HUD—holds the “power of the purse.”
A federal agency can only place conditions on grant money if Congress explicitly wrote those conditions into the law when creating the funding.
Because Congress has never tied HUD grants (like Section 8 vouchers or Community Development Block Grants) to local immigration enforcement, the executive branch cannot legally invent that rule on its own.
2. The “Nexus” Requirement (The Spending Clause)
The Supreme Court has established strict rules regarding federal funding conditions (South Dakota v. Dole). One of the core rules is that any condition placed on federal money must be directly related (have a nexus) to the purpose of the funds.
HUD funding is designed to provide affordable housing, build infrastructure, and reduce homelessness.
Because civil immigration enforcement has nothing to do with affordable housing, courts have ruled that threatening HUD funds over immigration policies is unconstitutional.
3. The “Anti-Commandeering” Doctrine (10th Amendment)
The Tenth Amendment states that the federal government cannot “commandeer” state and local officials. Cities have a constitutional right to decide how to use their own local resources.
Years ago this county was called out for lacking any accountability when it came to spending Hud money. It is ripe with fraud.