HUD will concentrate on National Origin discrimination in April. As part of its Fair Housing Month activities, HUD announced on April 11th it will "launch an effort to better address national origin based housing discrimination." The effort will consist of a national media campaign and various community discussions on rental practices to mortgage lending.
The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in rental, sales or home lending transactions based on a person's national origin. This includes discrimination based on a person's ancestry, country of birth outside the United States, and the language they speak. National origin discrimination often involves immigrants or non-English speaking individuals, but can also involve native-born U. S. citizens based on their family ancestry. This type of discrimination may also occur in conjunction with the other protections of the Fair Housing Act against race, color, religion, gender, disability, and family status discrimination.
HUD's first Immigrant Housing Conference, which will underline Fair Housing rights and responsibilities, will be in Omaha, Nebraska, on April 14.
