Deadline to Submit Comments on HUD’s Proposed Mixed-Status Rule Tomorrow, Tuesday, April 21; Take Action!
Apr 20, 2026
By Sarita Kelkar, NLIHC Policy Intern and Kayla Blackwell, NLIHC Senior Housing Policy Analyst
The comment period for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s proposed mixed-status rule closes on Tuesday, April 21, at 11:59 pm ET. NLIHC urges housing advocates to comment in opposition to the proposed mixed-status rule using resources provided by the Keep Families Together campaign. Organizations can also sign a comment letter from the Protecting Immigrant Families (PIF) Coalition by April 20 at 5:00 pm ET. HUD must review and consider all submitted comments—making comments imperative to defeating this harmful proposed rule! Submit your comment directly on the Federal Register here.
Background on Mixed-Status Families and the Proposed Rule
Mixed-status families are households with at least one U.S. citizen or immigrant eligible for federal housing assistance programs living with ineligible members. Eligibility is determined, in part, by immigration status. U.S. citizens and nationals, lawful permanent residents, asylees and refugees, parolees, persons granted withholding of removal, victims of trafficking, individuals residing in the U.S. under the Compact of Free Association (COFA), and immigrants admitted for lawful temporary assistance are eligible for federal housing assistance. Some immigrants do not qualify for housing assistance despite legal status; e.g., individuals with student visas or Temporary Protected Status (TPS).
Under the current mixed-status rule, eligible family members applying for assistance undergo citizenship or immigration status verification. Ineligible family members, however, have the option to not contend eligibility (see NHLP’s Know Your Rights in HUD-Assisted Housing resource for a helpful flow chart). While ineligible members do not receive rental assistance, mixed-status families can still live together while receiving prorated assistance: housing subsidy that covers only eligible members.
However, the proposed rule would remove the option for ineligible household members to not contend eligibility, ending prorated assistance, and consequently, force about 20,000 immigrant families to choose between family separation (for some members to maintain assistance) or self-eviction and potential homelessness. The proposed rule would also impose additional verification and documentation requirements, threatening access to assistance even for the eligible—undercutting HUD’s guiding argument for the proposed rule of furthering eligible individuals’ access to housing assistance.
Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) Reveals Significant Costs to Housing Providers, Families
HUD’s Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA), released on February 20, reveals the costs tenants and housing providers face if the proposed rule is implemented:
- The average replacement households—fully eligible households on waiting lists for HUD-funded housing assistance—would require a higher amount of assistance than the average outgoing mixed-status family. Moreover, the replacement household would receive a full subsidy rather than a prorated amount. HUD estimates that it would take, on average, $4,900 more per person to subsidize a replacement household.
- Due to increased costs per household, HUD will be able to serve fewer people in the impacted programs. Without funding beyond the amount of assistance lost from mixed-status households, HUD’s analysis states, “[t]he immediate effect would be a reduction in the number of households and eligible persons assisted.”
- HUD acknowledges that the proposed rule could force housing providers to reduce their services to the community and raise the possibility of PHAs leaving units vacant. The RIA notes that PHAs may need to respond by “offering fewer” Housing Choice Vouchers to tenants “or delaying issuing vouchers.” PHAs may also choose to lower payment standards or use reserves. Regarding public housing, HUD states, “A PHA cannot eliminate or downsize the number of existing Public Housing units as easily as Housing Choice Vouchers. Instead, a PHA could leave some units vacant, which would defer the costs of turnover and operation. A more likely response by affected PHAs would be to reduce overall project expenses such as housing maintenance, protective services, management and leasing services, and/or self-sufficiency programs for tenants.”
- If the proposal were finalized, HUD would need over $300 million in additional funds to serve the same number of families. Additional funding of $311-$385 million would be needed to maintain the same number of assisted family members.
Take Action – Keep Families Together!
The comment period ends TUESDAY, April 21, at 11:59 pm ET. NLIHC supports the Keep Families Together campaign, led by National Housing Law Project and the Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition, to oppose the mixed-status rule. The Keep Families Together website includes resources to educate housing and immigration advocates about the real harms of HUD’s proposed changes, if finalized, would cause. Advocates are encouraged to monitor the Keep Families Together website and NLIHC’s resources for updates.
Take action to oppose HUD’s Mixed-Status Rule:
- Draft and submit your comment using the Keep Families Together website by April 21 at 11:59 pm ET!
- The website includes prompts for specific communities, including children, families, Latino, Black, and Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.
- Add your organization to a comment letter led by the Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition by TODAY, April 20 at 5:00 pm ET!
- The comment letter summarizes how the proposed rule punishes U.S. citizens, while doing nothing to increase the availability of affordable housing.
Submit comments via regulations.gov by 11:59 pm ET on Tuesday, April 21.
Read HUD’s RIA here.
Explore the National Housing Law Project’s analysis and CBPP’s research.
Learn more about mixed status families’ access to housing assistance in Chapter 6 of NLIHC’s 2026 Advocates’ Guide.