Bookmark and Share
Overview:
Discrimination in housing on the basis of race, sex, family status, and other grounds is illegal in the United States. One of the largest federal civil rights agencies, the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) is a division of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that administers federal laws and makes policy regarding equal access to housing. The Office administers funding, processes discrimination complaints, and oversees enforcement and compliance with federal laws.
 
more
History:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title VIII of the 1968 Civil Rights Act (also known as the Fair Housing Act of 1968) expanded earlier landmark legislation concerning civil liberties and discrimination and specifically prohibited discrimination concerning the sale, rental or financing of housing based on race, religion, national origin, sex and (as amended) handicap and family status.
 
In 1966 and 1967, the Fair Housing Bill was circulated in Congress, but failed to garner sufficient support for passage. The Vietnam War - in which African American and Hispanic infantrymen suffered significant casualties, gave momentum to the initiative. Attention turned towards the families of servicemen in the U.S. who were denied housing based on race or national origin. Senator Edward Brooke of Massachusetts, the first African-American elected to the Senate by popular vote - along with various advocacy groups including the NAACP, the GI Forum and the National Coalition Against Discrimination in Housing - lobbied for the Senate to pass the Fair Housing Act. The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King in 1968 prompted a more direct response, and the Bill was pushed through both House and Senate and signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson one week later.
 
How Has the Fair Housing Act Fared? (by Cheryl Corley, NPR)

39 Steps Toward Fair Housing

(PDF)

 

more
What it Does:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

           
According to FHEO, the agency also:
  • Manages the Fair Housing Assistance Program, administers the award and management of Fair Housing Initiatives Program grants, and proposes fair housing legislation; works with other government agencies on fair housing issues;
  • Reviews and comments on Departmental clearances of proposed rules, handbooks, legislation, draft reports, and notices of funding availability for fair housing considerations;
  • Interprets policy, processes complaints, performs compliance reviews and offers technical assistance to local housing authorities and community development agencies regarding Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968;
  • Ensures the enforcement of federal laws relating to the elimination of all forms of discrimination in HUD's employment practices;
  • Conducts oversight of the Government-Sponsored Enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to ensure consistency with the Fair Housing Act and the fair housing provisions of the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act; and
  • Works with private industry, fair-housing and community advocates on the promotion of voluntary fair housing compliance. 
 
The Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) - provides funding to public and private organizations that develop programs that are designed to prevent or eliminate discriminatory housing practices. (FY 2007 funding: $19.8 million)
 
The Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) - strengthens nationwide fair housing efforts by helping individual State and local governments administer laws of their own that are consistent with the Federal Fair Housing Act. (FY 2007 funds: $24.8 million)
 
 
See Promoting Fair Housing for information on non-discrimination “affirmative strategies” including HUD’s Consolidated Plan, Public Housing Agency Plans, and Super Notice of Funding Availability (SuperNOFA), and information on the Community Development Block Grant program.
 
A Success
 
Complaints
Individuals can file discrimination complaints with the FHEO at no charge. The agency also funds and works with state and local government agencies that operate under parallel fair housing legislation. Under its Fair Housing Assistance Program, FHEO refers complaints to these agencies for investigation and processing. The Office also funds a network of private, non-profit fair housing advocacy organizations through its Fair Housing Initiatives Program.

 

 

As reported in the press, housing discrimination complaints hit a record high in 2006, and are expected to increase as HUD and fair housing agencies undertake outreach programs to increase visibility of the issue and, in the words of FHEA director Kim Kendrick, “let [people and the nation] know that fair housing is not an option, it’s the law.”
 
Housing official says agency working to be more consistent (by Deborah Barfield Berry, USA Today)

HUD Advice on How to Avoid Foreclosure

 

more
Controversies:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Immigrants’ Rights Under Fair Housing Laws

Nebraska Attorney General refuses to sue for immigrants' fair housing rights (by Nate Jenkins, USA Today)

 

more

Comments

Shelley Mack 5 years ago
I'm not commenting, I'm complaining ! I've lived in my low-income Senior Housing apt. for 4.10 now; I've been assaulted (3) times now. Management does nothing; in fact the mgr. and housing police protected the assaulter and subverted evidence. Filed false police reports too. It's racial too. I'VE TRIED TO WORK WITH THE MANAGER, THE MGR'S MGR...AND TOP EXECUTIVES....HOUSING POLICE CHEIF.... REGIONAL HUD OFFICE. No one takes responsibility or evicts the perpetrators as they should; these individuals have gone on to continue their disruptive, bad behavior. They seem to thrive on chaos. In What I read in the FAIR HOUSING ACT....I should not have to live with Harassment.....I believe that may include ASSAULTS. Now, if I were beaten by my married partner, they might do something about it. Seems if you're beat-up by another tenant, it's not a problem to management. DON'T EXPECT ANYONE TO CARE.....I've been trying for FOUR (5) YEARS NOW.
Robert l pickel 6 years ago
I recently purchased a mobile home at 1230 e nocta st in ontario cailf 91764 and the management will not let me enter the property. I've never lived there and management wont even talk with me on adult level. I purchased it on September 11 2018 and i guess they had issues with the last owners? I am not afialeated or know them! I bought it to live in it now im homeless because of it! I think there prejudice because im white and them hispanic. My # 909 489 0845. I need someone right away because I think they are trying to keep me out to put a lean on it and keep it? I've talked with police and they said its a civil matter. Its been to months I've been homeless. The park is STAR MOBILE PARK the address is the same 1230 e nocta st Ontario calif 91764 Robert Jimenez Manager thank you sincerely Robert Pickel.. pickelrl.69@gmail.com
jimmy breedlove 7 years ago
I am a maintenance man at a gov funded apt. I have been harassed by one women I have told the manager and my boss for her to leave me alone. they tore up her pink slip and told me to be nice to her because she said I was grabbing her and showing my penis to her I have not done any of this she is going out of her way to confront me at work please advise thank you jimmy
Chris Leman 7 years ago
RE:Sexual dscrmntn of homosexual cohabitants. This is an illegal clause found in applying for HUD Housing Sec 8. Refer:Proudly opening doors to Fair Housing/HUD Addresses LGBT Housing Discrimination. (Portal.hud.com)
Nessie Gray 7 years ago
I live in Livingston County (genoa tsp) Brighton,Mich. 48114 I want to know if HUD can help me get a house in Holland Mi. I found them to be less expensive. Some are bank owned. But I can`t afford a down payment. I live in a 52 yr old mobile home that is falling apart.I`ve lived here for 24 yrs. I don`t like aprt. - where it is like an extended family & sometimes dangerous. living because I started writing books & need quite, & I am now 84 & can still care for a house. I am so anxious to get a house. I worked for minimum wages 2&3 jobs at at a time without child support from 2 ex`s. Never had savings or stocks & bonds & had to work until I was 72 for 43 yrs. I need this. Nessie Gray 6555 E, Biscayne, Brighton, Mi.48114
Kim Krchnak 11 years ago
Should we continue to bend over for the harassers? I think not. File your case today and see the magic of government inaction make a mockery justice and the US Constitution. See lawyers scurry to cover their tracks. Watch civil servants hang up on you, not return your calls. Plead for the airline plotters to be stopped, beg! Watch as the towers come down. Think we have a government? Think again!
lorna kay sephus 12 years ago
my name is lorna kay sephus. i have been on housing since 2007. as of february 3 2012, i was evicted from my home, due to the fact that i did not have a income. reason because, i was and formally am disabled and unable to work. when i moved from treymore eastfield apartments, because my daughter was no longer able to assist me with my light bill, i relocated to an all bills paid apartment, spanish hills apartment. after moving to spanish hills apartments, i was told that i would ...
d alicea 14 years ago
to whom it concernes im writting in reguards of unfair lending and unfair bail out of my bank on my home fannie mae see we have been placed in trials ongoing that never stop so when we got sold after 13 years in the middle of a trial that accourding to hamp is against the law and to not give permenent modification after all trial payments made is also when does it stop we lived here for 15 yrs fell on low hoursand pay cut but still enough to make our last trial payment and we qualif...
Stuart Brown 15 years ago
How do I file a discrimination complaint against a lender (see below)? November 4, 2009 Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Attn: John Trasvina Janice and Stuart Brown 1835 Walton Lane Smyrna GA., 30082 404-421-8823 770-433-1380 To Whom It May Concern: My wife and I are trying to obtain approval on a FHA loan with a Direct Endorsed Underwriter (Bank of America). The home we’re trying to purchase is in Georgia, being serviced in Virginia and underwritt...

Leave a comment

Founded: 1968
Annual Budget: $51 million
Employees: 600
Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity
Farias, Anna Maria
Assistant Secretary

Anna Maria Farias, who has worked in Republican administrations since the early 1980s, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in August 2017 to lead the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) in the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). President Donald Trump nominated her to the post on June 19, 2017. Discrimination in housing on the basis of race, sex, family status, and other grounds is illegal in the United States. FHEO administers funding, processes discrimination complaints, and oversees enforcement and compliance with federal laws.

 

Farias was born in San Antonio, Texas, but grew up in Piedras Negras, Mexico. She and her mother, a maid, moved back to Crystal City, Texas, where they lived in the Crystal City housing projects and Farias attended Crystal City High School and was class valedictorian. She earned a scholarship to Boston University (BU), where William Bennett, who would go on to serve as Secretary of Education under President Ronald Reagan, was one of her teachers.  Farias graduated from BU in 1976 with a B.A. in political science, language and literature. She went on to earn a J.D. from Philadelphia’s Temple University in 1980, specializing in labor and personnel law.

 

After graduation, Farias went to work as an attorney for the Merit Systems Protection Board, which among other things helps protect government whistleblowers. In 1985, she was brought into Bennett’s Department of Education as deputy director of the Bilingual Education Office. Farias moved over to the National Labor Relations Board in 1989 as counsel. Beginning in 1992, she served for a year as a member of the Department of Labor’s Wage Appeals Board.

 

After the Republicans lost the White House, Farias returned to Crystal City in 1993 to serve as executive director of its housing authority, which had sheltered her and her mother years before. Farias even lived in one of the authority’s facilities during her tenure. In 2001, she was appointed to the Texas Commission on Human Rights.

 

When the George W. Bush administration took over in 2001, Farias returned to Washington. Bush put her up to lead the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, the same position to which she was appointed in 2017, but the job fell through at that time. Instead, she started as counsel to HUD Secretary Mel Martinez and in 2002 was made deputy assistant secretary for special initiatives in the Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD). In 2004, she moved over to be CPD’s deputy assistant secretary for grant programs. Farias was named HUD’s director of faith-based and community initiatives in 2007.

 

Farias returned to Texas when Bush left office and worked in private practice in Brownsville. In 2011, Governor Rick Perry appointed Farias to the board of the OneStar Foundation, which promotes volunteerism and community service in Texas. In 2012, she worked for McConnell International, a consulting firm, and the following year Perry appointed her to the board of regents of Texas Women’s University in Denton. She served as chair from February 2017 until being tapped for the HUD post.

 

At various times, Farias was a board member of MANA, a National Latina Organization, and the Winter Garden Women's Shelter, and president of the Crystal City Lions Club and Crystal City Little League.

 

Farias became vice-chair of the Bexar County (Texas) Republican Party in 2015. When Donald Trump Jr. appeared in San Antonio for a campaign fundraiser in September 2016 (private round-table discussion $15,000 per couple; a photo reception $2,700; luncheon alone $1,000), Farias gushed, “I'm sure people are going to open their checkbooks. When Donald Jr. spoke [at the Republican convention], my God, people went crazy.”

 

However, with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump widely seen as being hostile to Latinos, Farias concentrated her efforts during the 2016 election on teaching Hispanic voters how to split their ballot and vote for Republicans for local offices.

-Steve Straehley, David Wallechinsky

 

To Learn More:

Official Announcement

This Year’s Most Awkward Job? Latino Republican Outreach (by Evan Osnos, New Yorker)

Anna Maria Farias on “Cleaning up the Mess” (YouTube)

more
Velasquez, Gustavo
Previous Assistant Secretary

Gustavo Velasquez Aguilar was confirmed by the U.S. Senate, by a straight party vote, on June 19, 2014, to become assistant secretary for the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).           

 

Velasquez was born December 1, 1972 in Oaxaca, Mexico. He graduated from the Universidad Iberoamericano in 1994 with a degree in political science and public administration. After his graduation, he worked as special assistant to the secretary of planning in the Mexican government’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

 

After moving to the United States, Velasquez earned a master’s degree in public administration at the University of Pennsylvania in 1999.

 

Shortly after graduation, he was brought on board as division director of the Division of Families and Neighborhood Development at Congreso de Latinos Unidos, a Philadelphia-based provider of social services for Latinos. In 2001, he was made director of operations for the group. His responsibilities included assisting communities in need through management of programs on housing, finance and employment.

 

Between September 23, 2003, and December 31, 2006, Velasquez served as director of the Office of Latino Affairs for the District of Columbia. He then joined the D.C. Office of Human Rights, where he worked for nearly seven years, focusing primarily on enforcing the civil rights of residents, including non-discrimination practices through the D.C. Human Rights Act. 

 

On November 4, 2013, Velasquez took over as executive director of the Latino Economic Development Center, a Washington, D.C. non-profit that assists Latinos and other immigrants with finding affordable housing and developing the skills to create and operate their own businesses.

 

Velasquez and his wife, Emily, have two sons, Sebastian and Javier. He speaks fluent Spanish.

-Danny Biederman

 

To Learn More:

Senate Confirms Gustavo Velasquez as HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (The Arc)

Official Biography

more
Bookmark and Share
Overview:
Discrimination in housing on the basis of race, sex, family status, and other grounds is illegal in the United States. One of the largest federal civil rights agencies, the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) is a division of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that administers federal laws and makes policy regarding equal access to housing. The Office administers funding, processes discrimination complaints, and oversees enforcement and compliance with federal laws.
 
more
History:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title VIII of the 1968 Civil Rights Act (also known as the Fair Housing Act of 1968) expanded earlier landmark legislation concerning civil liberties and discrimination and specifically prohibited discrimination concerning the sale, rental or financing of housing based on race, religion, national origin, sex and (as amended) handicap and family status.
 
In 1966 and 1967, the Fair Housing Bill was circulated in Congress, but failed to garner sufficient support for passage. The Vietnam War - in which African American and Hispanic infantrymen suffered significant casualties, gave momentum to the initiative. Attention turned towards the families of servicemen in the U.S. who were denied housing based on race or national origin. Senator Edward Brooke of Massachusetts, the first African-American elected to the Senate by popular vote - along with various advocacy groups including the NAACP, the GI Forum and the National Coalition Against Discrimination in Housing - lobbied for the Senate to pass the Fair Housing Act. The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King in 1968 prompted a more direct response, and the Bill was pushed through both House and Senate and signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson one week later.
 
How Has the Fair Housing Act Fared? (by Cheryl Corley, NPR)

39 Steps Toward Fair Housing

(PDF)

 

more
What it Does:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

           
According to FHEO, the agency also:
  • Manages the Fair Housing Assistance Program, administers the award and management of Fair Housing Initiatives Program grants, and proposes fair housing legislation; works with other government agencies on fair housing issues;
  • Reviews and comments on Departmental clearances of proposed rules, handbooks, legislation, draft reports, and notices of funding availability for fair housing considerations;
  • Interprets policy, processes complaints, performs compliance reviews and offers technical assistance to local housing authorities and community development agencies regarding Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968;
  • Ensures the enforcement of federal laws relating to the elimination of all forms of discrimination in HUD's employment practices;
  • Conducts oversight of the Government-Sponsored Enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to ensure consistency with the Fair Housing Act and the fair housing provisions of the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act; and
  • Works with private industry, fair-housing and community advocates on the promotion of voluntary fair housing compliance. 
 
The Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) - provides funding to public and private organizations that develop programs that are designed to prevent or eliminate discriminatory housing practices. (FY 2007 funding: $19.8 million)
 
The Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) - strengthens nationwide fair housing efforts by helping individual State and local governments administer laws of their own that are consistent with the Federal Fair Housing Act. (FY 2007 funds: $24.8 million)
 
 
See Promoting Fair Housing for information on non-discrimination “affirmative strategies” including HUD’s Consolidated Plan, Public Housing Agency Plans, and Super Notice of Funding Availability (SuperNOFA), and information on the Community Development Block Grant program.
 
A Success
 
Complaints
Individuals can file discrimination complaints with the FHEO at no charge. The agency also funds and works with state and local government agencies that operate under parallel fair housing legislation. Under its Fair Housing Assistance Program, FHEO refers complaints to these agencies for investigation and processing. The Office also funds a network of private, non-profit fair housing advocacy organizations through its Fair Housing Initiatives Program.

 

 

As reported in the press, housing discrimination complaints hit a record high in 2006, and are expected to increase as HUD and fair housing agencies undertake outreach programs to increase visibility of the issue and, in the words of FHEA director Kim Kendrick, “let [people and the nation] know that fair housing is not an option, it’s the law.”
 
Housing official says agency working to be more consistent (by Deborah Barfield Berry, USA Today)

HUD Advice on How to Avoid Foreclosure

 

more
Controversies:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Immigrants’ Rights Under Fair Housing Laws

Nebraska Attorney General refuses to sue for immigrants' fair housing rights (by Nate Jenkins, USA Today)

 

more

Comments

Shelley Mack 5 years ago
I'm not commenting, I'm complaining ! I've lived in my low-income Senior Housing apt. for 4.10 now; I've been assaulted (3) times now. Management does nothing; in fact the mgr. and housing police protected the assaulter and subverted evidence. Filed false police reports too. It's racial too. I'VE TRIED TO WORK WITH THE MANAGER, THE MGR'S MGR...AND TOP EXECUTIVES....HOUSING POLICE CHEIF.... REGIONAL HUD OFFICE. No one takes responsibility or evicts the perpetrators as they should; these individuals have gone on to continue their disruptive, bad behavior. They seem to thrive on chaos. In What I read in the FAIR HOUSING ACT....I should not have to live with Harassment.....I believe that may include ASSAULTS. Now, if I were beaten by my married partner, they might do something about it. Seems if you're beat-up by another tenant, it's not a problem to management. DON'T EXPECT ANYONE TO CARE.....I've been trying for FOUR (5) YEARS NOW.
Robert l pickel 6 years ago
I recently purchased a mobile home at 1230 e nocta st in ontario cailf 91764 and the management will not let me enter the property. I've never lived there and management wont even talk with me on adult level. I purchased it on September 11 2018 and i guess they had issues with the last owners? I am not afialeated or know them! I bought it to live in it now im homeless because of it! I think there prejudice because im white and them hispanic. My # 909 489 0845. I need someone right away because I think they are trying to keep me out to put a lean on it and keep it? I've talked with police and they said its a civil matter. Its been to months I've been homeless. The park is STAR MOBILE PARK the address is the same 1230 e nocta st Ontario calif 91764 Robert Jimenez Manager thank you sincerely Robert Pickel.. pickelrl.69@gmail.com
jimmy breedlove 7 years ago
I am a maintenance man at a gov funded apt. I have been harassed by one women I have told the manager and my boss for her to leave me alone. they tore up her pink slip and told me to be nice to her because she said I was grabbing her and showing my penis to her I have not done any of this she is going out of her way to confront me at work please advise thank you jimmy
Chris Leman 7 years ago
RE:Sexual dscrmntn of homosexual cohabitants. This is an illegal clause found in applying for HUD Housing Sec 8. Refer:Proudly opening doors to Fair Housing/HUD Addresses LGBT Housing Discrimination. (Portal.hud.com)
Nessie Gray 7 years ago
I live in Livingston County (genoa tsp) Brighton,Mich. 48114 I want to know if HUD can help me get a house in Holland Mi. I found them to be less expensive. Some are bank owned. But I can`t afford a down payment. I live in a 52 yr old mobile home that is falling apart.I`ve lived here for 24 yrs. I don`t like aprt. - where it is like an extended family & sometimes dangerous. living because I started writing books & need quite, & I am now 84 & can still care for a house. I am so anxious to get a house. I worked for minimum wages 2&3 jobs at at a time without child support from 2 ex`s. Never had savings or stocks & bonds & had to work until I was 72 for 43 yrs. I need this. Nessie Gray 6555 E, Biscayne, Brighton, Mi.48114
Kim Krchnak 11 years ago
Should we continue to bend over for the harassers? I think not. File your case today and see the magic of government inaction make a mockery justice and the US Constitution. See lawyers scurry to cover their tracks. Watch civil servants hang up on you, not return your calls. Plead for the airline plotters to be stopped, beg! Watch as the towers come down. Think we have a government? Think again!
lorna kay sephus 12 years ago
my name is lorna kay sephus. i have been on housing since 2007. as of february 3 2012, i was evicted from my home, due to the fact that i did not have a income. reason because, i was and formally am disabled and unable to work. when i moved from treymore eastfield apartments, because my daughter was no longer able to assist me with my light bill, i relocated to an all bills paid apartment, spanish hills apartment. after moving to spanish hills apartments, i was told that i would ...
d alicea 14 years ago
to whom it concernes im writting in reguards of unfair lending and unfair bail out of my bank on my home fannie mae see we have been placed in trials ongoing that never stop so when we got sold after 13 years in the middle of a trial that accourding to hamp is against the law and to not give permenent modification after all trial payments made is also when does it stop we lived here for 15 yrs fell on low hoursand pay cut but still enough to make our last trial payment and we qualif...
Stuart Brown 15 years ago
How do I file a discrimination complaint against a lender (see below)? November 4, 2009 Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Attn: John Trasvina Janice and Stuart Brown 1835 Walton Lane Smyrna GA., 30082 404-421-8823 770-433-1380 To Whom It May Concern: My wife and I are trying to obtain approval on a FHA loan with a Direct Endorsed Underwriter (Bank of America). The home we’re trying to purchase is in Georgia, being serviced in Virginia and underwritt...

Leave a comment

Founded: 1968
Annual Budget: $51 million
Employees: 600
Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity
Farias, Anna Maria
Assistant Secretary

Anna Maria Farias, who has worked in Republican administrations since the early 1980s, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in August 2017 to lead the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) in the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). President Donald Trump nominated her to the post on June 19, 2017. Discrimination in housing on the basis of race, sex, family status, and other grounds is illegal in the United States. FHEO administers funding, processes discrimination complaints, and oversees enforcement and compliance with federal laws.

 

Farias was born in San Antonio, Texas, but grew up in Piedras Negras, Mexico. She and her mother, a maid, moved back to Crystal City, Texas, where they lived in the Crystal City housing projects and Farias attended Crystal City High School and was class valedictorian. She earned a scholarship to Boston University (BU), where William Bennett, who would go on to serve as Secretary of Education under President Ronald Reagan, was one of her teachers.  Farias graduated from BU in 1976 with a B.A. in political science, language and literature. She went on to earn a J.D. from Philadelphia’s Temple University in 1980, specializing in labor and personnel law.

 

After graduation, Farias went to work as an attorney for the Merit Systems Protection Board, which among other things helps protect government whistleblowers. In 1985, she was brought into Bennett’s Department of Education as deputy director of the Bilingual Education Office. Farias moved over to the National Labor Relations Board in 1989 as counsel. Beginning in 1992, she served for a year as a member of the Department of Labor’s Wage Appeals Board.

 

After the Republicans lost the White House, Farias returned to Crystal City in 1993 to serve as executive director of its housing authority, which had sheltered her and her mother years before. Farias even lived in one of the authority’s facilities during her tenure. In 2001, she was appointed to the Texas Commission on Human Rights.

 

When the George W. Bush administration took over in 2001, Farias returned to Washington. Bush put her up to lead the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, the same position to which she was appointed in 2017, but the job fell through at that time. Instead, she started as counsel to HUD Secretary Mel Martinez and in 2002 was made deputy assistant secretary for special initiatives in the Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD). In 2004, she moved over to be CPD’s deputy assistant secretary for grant programs. Farias was named HUD’s director of faith-based and community initiatives in 2007.

 

Farias returned to Texas when Bush left office and worked in private practice in Brownsville. In 2011, Governor Rick Perry appointed Farias to the board of the OneStar Foundation, which promotes volunteerism and community service in Texas. In 2012, she worked for McConnell International, a consulting firm, and the following year Perry appointed her to the board of regents of Texas Women’s University in Denton. She served as chair from February 2017 until being tapped for the HUD post.

 

At various times, Farias was a board member of MANA, a National Latina Organization, and the Winter Garden Women's Shelter, and president of the Crystal City Lions Club and Crystal City Little League.

 

Farias became vice-chair of the Bexar County (Texas) Republican Party in 2015. When Donald Trump Jr. appeared in San Antonio for a campaign fundraiser in September 2016 (private round-table discussion $15,000 per couple; a photo reception $2,700; luncheon alone $1,000), Farias gushed, “I'm sure people are going to open their checkbooks. When Donald Jr. spoke [at the Republican convention], my God, people went crazy.”

 

However, with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump widely seen as being hostile to Latinos, Farias concentrated her efforts during the 2016 election on teaching Hispanic voters how to split their ballot and vote for Republicans for local offices.

-Steve Straehley, David Wallechinsky

 

To Learn More:

Official Announcement

This Year’s Most Awkward Job? Latino Republican Outreach (by Evan Osnos, New Yorker)

Anna Maria Farias on “Cleaning up the Mess” (YouTube)

more
Velasquez, Gustavo
Previous Assistant Secretary

Gustavo Velasquez Aguilar was confirmed by the U.S. Senate, by a straight party vote, on June 19, 2014, to become assistant secretary for the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).           

 

Velasquez was born December 1, 1972 in Oaxaca, Mexico. He graduated from the Universidad Iberoamericano in 1994 with a degree in political science and public administration. After his graduation, he worked as special assistant to the secretary of planning in the Mexican government’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

 

After moving to the United States, Velasquez earned a master’s degree in public administration at the University of Pennsylvania in 1999.

 

Shortly after graduation, he was brought on board as division director of the Division of Families and Neighborhood Development at Congreso de Latinos Unidos, a Philadelphia-based provider of social services for Latinos. In 2001, he was made director of operations for the group. His responsibilities included assisting communities in need through management of programs on housing, finance and employment.

 

Between September 23, 2003, and December 31, 2006, Velasquez served as director of the Office of Latino Affairs for the District of Columbia. He then joined the D.C. Office of Human Rights, where he worked for nearly seven years, focusing primarily on enforcing the civil rights of residents, including non-discrimination practices through the D.C. Human Rights Act. 

 

On November 4, 2013, Velasquez took over as executive director of the Latino Economic Development Center, a Washington, D.C. non-profit that assists Latinos and other immigrants with finding affordable housing and developing the skills to create and operate their own businesses.

 

Velasquez and his wife, Emily, have two sons, Sebastian and Javier. He speaks fluent Spanish.

-Danny Biederman

 

To Learn More:

Senate Confirms Gustavo Velasquez as HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (The Arc)

Official Biography

more