Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge unveiled a multi-step plan Monday that would make it easier for people with a criminal record to find housing.

"You can no longer deny a person the ability to live in public housing or section eight housing just because they have a criminal record," said Fudge. "Those days are done."

What You Need To Know

  • HUD Secretary Fudge unveiled a multi-step plan to make it easier for people with a criminal record to find housing

  • Some federal laws ban people convicted of certain crimes from accessing publicly funded housing programs

  • Black and Latino Americans are disproportionately incarcerated in the U.S. compared to white Americans. That means screening policies by federally funded housing providers can harm people of color the most
  • According to the FBI, roughly 70 million to 100 million Americans have a criminal record. That's about 1 in 3 American adults

Fudge made the announcement while in New York City. 

The change would impact public housing agencies like NYCHA and any HUD-subsidized housing providers. 

"Of the 80 million people in this country that have an arrest or conviction record don't pose a threat to me or to you," said Fudge. "We need them to be in positive environments. We need them to be with their families. We need stable housing."

Activists says there is no reason for a person who wants to reintegrate into society to be denied this basic human right.

"Part of the whole process is redemption," said Ayesha George, the Executive Director of STRIVE New York. "You go in and you serve your time and you're released under the premise that you have done what you needed to do in accordance to the crime that you committed. And that's our space in society that we should hold."

Some federal laws ban people convicted of certain crimes from accessing publicly funded housing programs. But New Yorkers say that's unfair, considering the amount of wrongful convictions in the U.S. every year.

"People have needed opportunities like this for a very long time, especially in underserved communities," said Lex King, a Brooklyn resident. "And I feel like there's a lot of wrongful convictions and people getting locked up for things they did when they were children."

Meanwhile, Black and Latino Americans are disproportionately incarcerated in the U.S. compared to white Americans. That means screening policies by federally funded housing providers can harm people of color the most.

"I think there's a disproportionate number of people who've been incarcerated wrongfully so to give them a fair shake is a good idea," said Wiley Mathews, a Brooklyn resident.

According to the FBI, roughly 70 million to 100 million Americans have a criminal record. That's about one in three American adults.