House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democratic leaders called on the Biden administration to use its power to extend the United States’ moratorium on evictions.

A federal ban imposed in response to the coronavirus pandemic expired on July 31, which for most of the past year prevented people from leaving their houses and apartments for unpaid rent.

“We all agree that the expulsion crisis is a huge challenge to our country’s conscience,” Democratic leader Pelosi of the U.S. House of Representatives said in a letter to her Democratic colleagues on Monday.

Pelosi said: “It is unfathomable that we do not take action to prevent people from being deported,” she urged lawmakers to work with state and local officials in their areas to ensure that federal aid reaches those in need.

Housing advocates expect A wave of expulsion As the government restarts the mechanism that takes people away from their homes, they will build in the coming weeks and months.The number of infections and hospitalizations in the U.S. is starting to rise again because of the increasing Highly infectious Delta variant The coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

White House officials said on Monday that they are reviewing whether the CDC or other federal agencies have the legal power to extend the federal moratorium on deportations and called on national judicial authorities to postpone deportations.

Instead, the Biden administration is pushing local governments to take full advantage of a $46.5 billion federal aid program designed to help renters and landlords during the pandemic.

White House senior adviser Gene Sperling said: “If some states and localities can effectively solve this problem, then there is no reason why every state and locality cannot do it.”

Sperling told reporters at the White House: “There is no excuse, no place to hide from any state or place that has failed to speed up the emergency rent assistance fund.”

Sperling said that in June this year, the United States paid $1.5 billion to renters and landlords to help 290,000 tenants, and these numbers are expected to increase.

Just as the unemployment caused by COVID-19 falls most heavily on ethnic minorities, the upcoming deportations “will seriously fall on people of color, especially black and Latino communities, who face greater risks of deportation and more vaccines. Barriers to inoculation,” Alicia Mazara, a senior research analyst at the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, told The Associated Press.

Rep. Joyce Beatty, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, warned on Monday that the upcoming wave of evictions would cause disproportionate harm to black families.

“As the deadly epidemic breaks out again, thousands of black families and children may lose their roofs and their lives are thrown into chaos due to the pandemic,” Beatty said

“The extension of the suspension is based on public health and Delta variants. This will also allow more time for the funds allocated by Congress to finally flow,” she said.

Due to the surge in coronavirus infections, the nationwide expulsion order expired at midnight on July 31, and now as many as 3.6 million people in the United States are at risk of being forced to leave their homes.

Newly progressive Congressman Corey Bush from St. Louis, Missouri, has been camping outside the U.S. Capitol since Friday, demanding an extension of the federal deportation ban.

The expiration of his term has caused a headache for President Joe Biden. He asked Congress last week to extend the 11-month relocation ban. Court ruling Means that the White House cannot.

Republicans were hesitant to extend the ban to October 18 by Democratic lawmakers, and the House of Representatives did not extend the ban due to the summer recess.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) first implemented a moratorium in September 2020 to combat the spread of COVID-19 and prevent homelessness during the pandemic.

During the pandemic, the U.S. Congress approved nearly $46.5 billion in federal housing assistance to states and localities, but local governments have made slow progress in providing funds to renters and landlords.

Landlord groups questioned the legality of the CDC’s prohibition of eviction. The US Supreme Court ruled last month with a 5 to 4 ruling to keep the Biden administration’s eviction order in place. Decided to extend Suspended until the end of July.

Judge Brett Kavanaugh, appointed by former President Donald Trump, made it clear that unless there is “clear and specific congressional authorization,” he will prevent any additional extensions.