The Trump administration may publish a proposed rule in the Federal Register this week that would prohibit ineligible immigrants from living in HUD-subsidized housing. Under the rule, HUD will require expanded use of the Department of Homeland Security’s SAVE system to screen all residents under the age of 62, including people already receiving rental assistance through various HUD programs, including public housing, the Housing Choice Voucher program, and the Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance program. Families with members who are ineligible immigrants may be evicted from subsidized housing after 18 months. Once the rule is published in the Federal Register, advocates will have 60 days to submit comments to HUD. NLIHC and our partners will provide resources to help advocates comment on the rule.
Under current law, ineligible immigrants cannot receive federal housing assistance, but families of mixed-immigration status can live in subsidized housing if at least one member of the household is eligible to receive assistance. U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, refugees and asylum seekers are eligible to receive housing assistance. People who are ineligible can include undocumented immigrants but can also include immigrants with legal status not covered by HUD programs. Residents can declare themselves ineligible and are not required to reveal their immigration status. When a family of mixed-immigration status receives housing assistance, the family’s subsidy is pro-rated to account for only legally eligible residents. NLIHC estimates that there are 25,000 families of mixed-immigration status that receive housing assistance, the majority of whom live in New York, California, and Texas.
NLIHC opposes this rule. Consider showing your opposition by sharing the following sample tweets.
- The HUD proposed rule to prohibit families of mixed-status from living in federally-subsidized housing is cruel. Tell @SecretaryCarson to #KeepFamilesTogether & retract this rule https://bit.ly/2E3EOEn
- #DYK: HUD does NOT fund undocumented immigrants who live in subsidized housing? The new proposed rule would only succeed in breaking up families & do little to shorten waitlists. #KeepFamiliesTogether Tell @SecretaryCarson NOT TODAY! https://bit.ly/2E3EOEn
- The proposed HUD rule only succeeds at breaking up families & doesn’t address the real need to fix the #affordablehousing crisis: NEW INVESTMENTS IN RESOURCES! #KeepFamiliesTogether Don’t deny families critical assistance https://bit.ly/2E3EOEn
- Prohibiting mixed-status families from being able to live together is cruel & unnecessary. Tell @SecretaryCarson to #KeepFamiliesTogether https://bit.ly/2E3EOEn
- The proposed mixed-status families rule places thousands of people, including children that are US citizens, at risk of homelessness. #KeepFamiliesTogether. Tell @SecretaryCarson you stand against denying families critical assistance to keep roofs over their heads https://bit.ly/2E3EOEn
- Housing stability is crucial for getting families on a pathway to a better life. The new proposed mixed-status family rule threatens this path for low-income immigrants. #KeepFamiliesTogether, support housing asst. for people w/ the greatest needs https://bit.ly/2E3EOEn
NLIHC will provide updates and ways to get involved as we learn more about the proposed rule.
Read NLIHC’s statement here: https://bit.ly/2VbGaq6