By Renee Williams, NLIHC Senior Advisor for Public Policy
On September 21, 2026, a federal court vacated a November 2025 HUD notice (see Memo, 12/22/25) (Notice) that, if fully implemented, would have represented a significant change for HUD grantees that had not been previously required to verify immigration status within their programs.
The now-vacated Notice outlined HUD’s view that the “Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996” (PRWORA) requires immigration status verification in a wide range of HUD programs where such verifications have not been previously required. The court concluded the Notice violated the “Administrative Procedure Act” because HUD did not go through notice and comment rulemaking first. In its analysis of the Notice, the court noted the “major departure from HUD’s prior application” of PRWORA and the “significant practical implications for the administration of HUD programs.” Importantly, the court left open the possibility of HUD engaging in rulemaking regarding PRWORA in the future.
In the same opinion, the court invalidated PRWORA notices for other federal agencies including the Department of Justice, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Labor (DOL), and the Department of Education (ED).
The Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition (PIF) praised the ruling for striking down “arbitrary, abusive, and dangerous policies,” adding that the decision “protects the health and wellbeing of the 28% of America’s population living in immigrant families.” Read PIF’s full statement.
Brief Background
PRWORA states that a person who is not a “qualified alien” is not eligible for a “federal public benefit.” PRWORA requires that the federal government implement measures regarding immigration verification for programs that constitute a “federal public benefit.” Therefore, which programs are deemed a “federal public benefit,” and whether a particular program falls within a PRWORA exemption, are important determinations. Another key issue is identifying the specific entities that will be required to conduct the verification and how they will do so.
On November 26, 2025, HUD issued the Notice in the Federal Register without providing an opportunity for public comment. The Notice interpreted the PRWORA term “federal public benefit” to cover a wide range of HUD programs, such as the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME, and Continuum of Care (CoC) programs. The Notice represented a significant departure from current practice for HUD grantees. The Notice also indicated future guidance was forthcoming regarding immigration verification and PRWORA compliance. For a more in-depth summary of the Notice, see Memo, 12/22/25.
After PRWORA notices were issued at several other federal agencies, 22 jurisdictions filed a lawsuit challenging the validity of these notices. HUD issued its Notice while that lawsuit was ongoing. The lawsuit was then amended to add a challenge to the HUD Notice. The September 2026 decision resulted from this litigation.
The Court’s Decision
In its decision, the court: (1) declared the challenged federal agencies’ PRWORA notices (including HUD’s) unlawful and ordered them to be set aside and vacated; (2) prohibited the federal agencies from implementing or enforcing the challenged notices against the lawsuit’s plaintiffs; and (3) clarified that HUD, HHS, DOL, and ED could still issue new PRWORA rules after notice and comment rulemaking.
Read the decision.
Read PIF’s statement.