The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is seeking to require proof of U.S. citizenship or eligible status for every resident in HUD-funded housing, including “mixed-status” households.
The HUD mixed-status proposed rule could lead to the eviction of tens of thousands of families with mixed-immigration status and put many other federally assisted tenants at risk, according to the National Housing Law Project (NHLP).
“Our country can ensure that every one of us, no matter where we come from or what language we speak, has a safe home,” said Shamus Roller, NHLP executive director. “Instead, Trump is trying to evict immigrant families, citizen and non-citizen, from HUD housing. This comes on top of efforts to undermine federal housing programs and use violent ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and CBP [Customs and Border Protection] agents to terrorize immigrant communities.”
Roller blasted the proposal, saying Trump’s proposal runs contrary to federal law and is designed to instill fear on immigrant families.
“His administration deflects blame for the housing crisis onto immigrants so they can continue dismantling HUD’s hallmark and life-saving housing programs,” Roller said. “The result would be over 100,000 people evicted, including more than 37,000 children, many of them citizens. HUD also seeks to enlist housing authorities and owners into immigration enforcement and away from its core mission—providing affordable housing in the midst of a national housing crisis.”
He added that the proposal was defeated during Trump’s first administration, and his organization and others are ready to fight again.
Mixed-status households are those that include members who are eligible and others who are ineligible for housing assistance based on their immigration status. HUD allows families to live together in subsidized housing even if one family member is ineligible, but these households receive assistance at amounts prorated based on eligible members.
In announcing the new proposed rule, HUD said the move seeks to “close loopholes and prohibit HUD funding from benefiting illegal aliens and ineligible noncitizens who reside in taxpayer-funded housing.”
“Under President Trump’s leadership, the days of illegal aliens, ineligibles, and fraudsters gaming the system and riding the coattails of American taxpayers are over,” said HUD secretary Scott Turner. “HUD’s proposed rule will guarantee that all residents in HUD-funded housing are eligible tenants. We have zero tolerance for pushing aside hardworking U.S. citizens while enabling others to exploit decades-old loopholes.”
The department said a recent audit of all assisted households identified nearly 200,000 tenants with incomplete or unknown eligibility verification, adding that it also estimates “approximately 24,000 illegal aliens, ineligibles, and fraudsters in 20,000 mixed-status households benefit from HUD assistance.”
The agency is set to publish the proposed rule in the Federal Register and will then accept public comments for 60 days.
In other news, the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA), leading a coalition of 174 civil rights, fair housing, fair lending, and social justice organizations, is calling on HUD to halt plans to gut a critical tool that protects people from discrimination under the Fair Housing Act of 1968.
The organization recently filed a letter opposing the federal agency’s proposed rule that would significantly weaken disparate impact under fair housing.
“The Supreme Court has already made it clear that disparate impact is cognizable under the Fair Housing Act,” said Nikitra Bailey, executive vice president at NFHA. “HUD’s Discriminatory Effects Rule was implemented to provide much-needed clarity on how to apply this important standard. Unfortunately, HUD’s new proposal is just the latest attempt by the administration to muddy the waters and is a dereliction of its responsibilities to fully enforce the Fair Housing Act of 1968.”