Seattle Slavic Association

Snohomish County is encouraging nonprofit organizations, for-profit developers and government agencies to submit applications to develop affordable rental housing, homeownership development projects, emergency bridge or shelter housing projects, and homebuyer downpayment assistance and sweat equity projects.

An estimated $1,054,917 in federal funds under the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) may be available for the 2026 program year, and Affordable Housing and Behavioral Health Capital Funds (AHBH) in an amount to be determined. Projects must benefit low-income people in Snohomish County and 2026 awards are subject to funding availability.

President Trump set the refugee admissions ceiling at 7,500 for fiscal year 2026, the lowest cap since the U.S. refugee program was established in 1980, according to a Federal Register notice dated September 30 and published on October 31. The determination states that admissions will "primarily be allocated among Afrikaners from South Africa" and "other victims of illegal or unjust discrimination in their respective homelands." President Trump suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program on his first day in office, later creating an exemption for white South Africans whom his administration claims face racial persecution, despite denials from the South African government. The administration stated the 7,500 level is "justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest." The cap contrasts sharply with historical averages of around 95,000 refugee admissions under both Democratic and Republican administrations.

The U.S. government plans to add questions to the civics test portion of the citizenship interview, reports Camilo Montoya-Galvez CBS News.

Becoming a U.S. citizen is already a costly and lengthy process, Montoya-Galvez points out. The first Trump administration proposed the longer test in 2020, but the Biden administration reverted to the existing test, saying the higher bar was an unnecessary impediment for would-be citizens.

Under the proposal, test takers will have to study 128 questions, up from 100, and get 12 out of 20 correct rather than 6 out of 10.

The changes are part of a broader push to examine citizenship applicants more closely, including measures to check “good moral character” and conduct interviews with neighbors and co-workers, Montoya-Galvez notes.