Letter from Assistant Secretary Craig Trainor on Operation Allies

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
WASHINGTON, DC 20410-2000
ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR
FAIR HOUSING AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
December 5, 2025
Dear Colleague:
The Trump Administration is committed to restoring the rule of law and protecting
the rights of all Americans. To this end, the Office of Fair Housing and Equal
Opportunity (FHEO) is engaging in a continuous review of guidance documents
issued by previous administrations to ensure compliance with the Fair Housing Act
and related civil rights laws.
As a result of this review, and consistent with applicable law, I am rescinding the
guidance document titled “Operation Allies Welcome: Frequently Asked Questions
(FAQs) on Fair Housing Issues” (Operation Allies Welcome Guidance) and
withdrawing FHEO from the interagency guidance document titled “Frequently
Asked Questions (FAQ) Renting to Refugees and Eligible Newcomers” (Interagency
FAQ). This rescission and withdrawal are effective immediately.
The Biden Administration Launches Operation Allies Welcome
On August 29, 2021, the Biden Administration initiated “Operation Allies Welcome”
to provide taxpayer-funded resettlement support services to Afghan refugees arriving
in the United States following that administration’s withdrawal of United States
troops from Afghanistan. As part of that initiative, FHEO issued guidance to
“landlords and property managers” regarding “the Fair Housing Act and other civil
rights requirements as they consider participation in Operation Allies Welcome.”
Additionally, the Department joined with other federal agencies in promulgating the
Interagency FAQ.
The Operation Allies Welcome Guidance Discriminates Against American Citizens
in Favor of Afghan Refugees
As a threshold matter, these non-binding guidance documents adopt an
interpretation of the Fair Housing Act that is in fundamental conflict with the Act’s
textual requirements.1 The Fair Housing Act prohibits, among other things,
discrimination in the terms, conditions, or privileges of selling or renting a dwelling
because of the national origin of the prospective buyer or renter.2 The Supreme Court
has explained that “the term ‘national origin’ on its face refers to the country where
1 See Antonin Scalia & Bryan A. Garner, Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts 56 (2012)
(“Do not depart from the words of the law”).
2 42 U.S.C. § 3604(b).

Page 2 of 3
a person was born, or more broadly, the country from which his or her ancestors
came.”3 Native-born Americans receive the full protections of the Fair Housing Act.4
Therefore, housing providers are not permitted to discriminate against individuals
because they were born in the United States.
Despite this well-established and elementary legal principle, the Biden
Administration’s Operation Allies Welcome Guidance nevertheless invites landlords
and property managers to unlawfully favor Afghan refugees over native-born
American rental applicants. For instance, the guidance’s FAQs suggests that
landlords and property managers “forgo credit checks for Afghan refugees” by
considering making “a credit check exception” for all immigrants. Similarly, it
encourages housing providers to engage in “target marketing” to “Afghan
populations” in certain circumstances. Rather than “affirmatively furthering fair
housing,” this guidance emboldens housing providers to discriminate on the basis of
national origin—namely, by giving preferential treatment to Afghan refugees over
American citizens.
Additionally, the Operation Allies Welcome Guidance provides an interpretation of
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that conflates a lack of “language access” for
those of limited English proficiency with national origin discrimination. But under
Title VI, “language and national origin classifications are not interchangeable,” nor
is language a protected trait.5
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s guidance documents are
designed to inform the American public about the Department’s interpretations of
statutes and regulations and its policy priorities. These pronouncements should not
be issued to jawbone landlords and property managers into violating the Fair
Housing Act’s prohibition on national origin discrimination by privileging favored
immigrants over Americans. But that is exactly what the Biden Administration’s
Operation Allies Welcome Guidance set out to do. As of January 20, 2025, this
Department is out of the business of facilitating unlawful discrimination by endorsing
preferential treatment for favored groups.
Compliance with the Fair Housing Act Is Mandatory
As Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, I am responsible for
enforcing the Fair Housing Act and related civil rights laws throughout the United
States. The Biden Administration’s Operation Allies Welcome Guidance and related
3 Espinoza v. Farah Mfg. Co., Inc., 414 U.S. 86, 88 (1973) (Marshall, J.) (cleaned up).
4 See Thomas v. Rohner-Gehrig & Co., 582 F. Supp. 669, 675 (N.D. Ill. 1984) (holding that
“employment discrimination against American citizens based merely on country of birth, whether
that birthplace is the United States or elsewhere,” constitutes national origin discrimination).
5 U.S. Att’y Gen. Memo., “Implementation of Executive Order No. 14, 224: Designating English as
the Official Language of the United States of America,” 6 (July 14, 2025) (citation omitted).

Page 3 of 3
Interagency FAQ contains interpretations and conclusions of law inconsistent with
the Fair Housing Act and Title VI. Accordingly, those documents never should have
been issued. I remind housing providers that rental policies that do not comply with
the Fair Housing Act are illegal, and FHEO will vigorously enforce the law to ensure
compliance.
Sincerely,
Craig Trainor
Assistant Secretary
Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity