A May 26 Metro article about federal discrimination complaints against Manassas incorrectly described the roles of the advocates involved. The Equal Rights Center filed a complaint after a months-long investigation into the city's crowding program. The Equal Rights Center was represented by the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, along with the law firm Beveridge and Diamond PC.
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HUD to Probe Manassas Anti-Crowding Effort
The Manassas program was established at a time when many city residents were complaining not only about crowded housing but more broadly about illegal immigration and issues such as the growing cost of English language classes in schools.
City leaders have spoken openly about the need to deal with that problem, and the resulting program was not unlike others across the country in which frustrated local officials have attempted to use means at their disposal to combat a problem whose solution, they say, lies with the federal government.
As the city's program has played out, the people most affected have often been Hispanics who have been living in the city for decades, have bought homes and were perhaps supplementing the mortgage by taking in an additional tenant.
"There are many American citizens or permanent residents, people who have jobs, who have worked hard," Thabault said. "They have come here to try to make a life, and now they're being harassed by the very city they're paying taxes to."
The complaints filed yesterday include those of 10 Manassas residents who say they were harassed, intimidated and coerced by the city. At least 200 residents have been displaced by the city's rules, Thabault said.
Federal housing officials will now begin a process of investigating the city program further and discussing with officials ways that the complaints might be resolved, including payment damages to people affected.
"We'll see what the city has to say," said Rabbi Bruce Kahn, executive director of the Equal Rights Center. "We have to see where it leads."
If federal officials are not satisfied with the resolution of the complaints, they can take the city to court.
