The Department of Housing and Urban Development said Thursday it is opening an investigation into Boston’s housing policies looking at whether the city’s racial equity initiatives violate the civil rights of white people. The investigation could result in legal action by the Justice Department.
“We believe the City of Boston has engaged in a social engineering project that intentionally advances discriminatory housing policies driven by an ideological commitment to DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] rather than merit or need,” Scott Turner, the federal housing secretary, said in a statement on the agency’s website.
The department informed Boston of its investigation in a letter Thursday that said, under Mayor Michelle Wu, city officials have tried to “smuggle” racial equity into every level of the city’s operations.
In response, a Wu spokesperson called the investigation the latest of many “unhinged attacks from Washington.”
“Boston will never abandon our commitment to fair and affordable housing, and we will defend our progress to keep Bostonians in their homes,” the spokesperson wrote.
Turner cited Boston’s Housing Strategy for 2025 as an example of a “racially discriminatory housing plan.”
“This warped mentality will be fully exposed, and Boston will come into full compliance with federal anti-discrimination law,” Turner said.
In September, the Department of Housing and Urban Development sent another letter to top city officials warning that “HUD had reason to believe Boston was using HUD grant assistance in violation of its legal obligations, which prohibits race-based preferences.” That letter asked the city to provide information and documents, and suggested further legal action and review of HUD funding could be taken.
HUD will be requesting more documents from the city in the next 10 days to investigate alleged discrimination.
