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The Department of Housing and Urban Development on Thursday issued a proposed rule to tighten eligibility requirements for federally funded housing programs, including Section 8, by requiring verification of U.S. citizenship or eligible immigration status for all applicants and recipients.
The proposal revises regulations implementing Section 214 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980, which bars HUD from providing financial assistance to individuals who are not U.S. citizens or certain categories of eligible noncitizens.
According to the agency, the change would require verification of citizenship or eligible immigration status for all individuals receiving assistance under covered programs, regardless of age. It would also modify how prorated assistance is handled.
“Section 214 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980, as amended (“Section 214”), prohibits the Secretary of HUD from making financial assistance available to persons other than United States citizens or certain categories of eligible noncitizens in HUD’s public and specified assisted housing programs,” the proposed language stated.
“This proposed rule would revise HUD’s Section 214 implementing regulations to require the verification of U.S. citizenship or the eligible immigration status of all applicants and recipients of assistance under a covered program regardless of age. The proposed rule would also make prorated assistance a temporary condition pending verification of eligible status of all family members, where permitted by statute, as opposed to under HUD’s current regulations where prorated assistance could continue indefinitely. These amendments would bring HUD’s regulations into greater alignment with the wording and purpose of Section 214 and align with the current Administration’s priorities and regulatory reform efforts,” it added.
HUD Secretary Scott Turner said the proposal is intended to address what he described as long-standing gaps in enforcement.
“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,” Turner told Politico. “We have zero tolerance for pushing aside hardworking U.S. citizens while enabling others to exploit decades-old loopholes.”
HUD has said that about 2 percent of households headed by individuals unlawfully present in the United States receive housing assistance, as do roughly 6 percent of households headed by legal immigrants.
