“Multi-Sector Organizing to Protect Immigrant Communities: The Keep Families Together Campaign” Webinar Recap

By Julie Walker, NLIHC Project Manager, Opportunity Starts at Home 

The Opportunity Starts at Home (OSAH) Campaign and OSAH Roundtable Members Protecting Immigration Families (PIF) and the National Housing Law Project (NHLP) hosted a webinar on October 29, highlighting the achievements of the Keep Families Together Campaign, which organized a broad coalition of national, state, and local partners in response to HUD’s proposed Mixed-Status rule. The proposed Mixed-Status rule would force families with mixed immigration statuses (mixed-status families) in certain HUD programs to choose between separating to preserve their housing assistance or foregoing their assistance to stay together. 

Speakers included:  

• Julie Walker, Opportunity Starts at Home (OSAH) project manager, NLIHC 
• Kayla Blackwell, senior housing policy analyst, NLIHC 
• Adriana Cadena, executive director, Protecting Immigrant Families (PIF) 
• Marie Claire Tran-Leung, evictions initiative project director and managing attorney, National Housing Law Project (NHLP) 
• Sonya Acosta, senior policy analyst, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) 

Julie Walker opened the webinar with an overview of the OSAH campaign and the significance of mobilizing multi-sector partners around both offensive and defensive policy priorities. She highlighted the Keep Families Together Campaign as a powerful example of success in mobilizing a wide array of partners with different areas of expertise to oppose the HUD proposed Mixed-Status rule. 

Marie Claire Tran-Leung shared more about Keep Families Together Campaign efforts from 2019 to the present, including defeating the 2019 HUD proposed Mixed-Status rule by gathering over 30,000 comments. She highlighted that the campaign’s success was the result of bringing together a broad spectrum of stakeholders in opposition to this rule. Housing organizations that are not always aligned came together, and multi-sector partners, including educators, health care providers, and local and state governments, saw the importance of keeping immigrant families together and showed up for the effort. When comments were needed again in 2026, partners remained steadfast in their support. Collaboration with PIF helped the campaign to bring in additional multi-sector partners by connecting the Mixed-Status proposed rule to a broader anti-immigrant agenda that cuts across all public benefits. 

Sonya Acosta shared her history with the Keep Families Together Campaign, beginning in her role as a policy analyst at NLIHC, and how she continues to support this work at CBPP through data analysis and technical assistance. Since 2019, leaders of the Keep Families Together Campaign have strengthened relationships with partners and worked closely with immigrant rights groups. Campaign leaders were also able to build on earlier campaign materials to ensure that partners had the educational materials needed to submit comments and inform communities. She emphasized the importance of a multipronged approach that includes coalition building, education and awareness, and legislative strategy based on congressional composition.  

Kayla Blackwell discussed how NLIHC helped to bring in and mobilize national, state, and local partners. The Keep Families Together Campaign leaders identified populations who would be most impacted by the proposed Mixed-Status rule, and which sectors would be impacted, including those working directly in communities. Key partners included tenant leaders, homelessness advocates, immigration advocates, organizations serving older adults, housing providers, public benefits advocates, organizations serving immigrant survivors of domestic violence, state and local elected officials, and members of Congress. She shared that an important step to bringing partners into the work was educating different networks through webinars, partner calls, and in-person events on the proposed Mixed Status rule and relating the impacts of the rulemaking to multi-sector partners’ day-to-day work and populations served.  

Adriana concluded the webinar by sharing what is next for the Keep Families Together Campaign and plans to sustain momentum. She shared that they are anticipating the publication of the HUD Mixed-Status Final Rule, and it is critical to provide clear guidance to immigrant families about how it will impact their federally subsidized housing so they can make an informed choice about their housing assistance. The campaign is developing educational materials for families and service providers that will be shared with their network. She encouraged attendees to join the Keep Families Together Campaign by visiting the campaign website. She emphasized that the proposed rulemaking would impact not only immigrant communities but all communities, and that we all have a role to play to protect families by ensuring the use of equitable approaches to address the affordable housing crisis.  

CBPP is an OSAH campaign Steering Committee member. PIF and NHLP are members of the OSAH campaign’s Roundtable.   

Watch the recorded webinar.