By Jasper Ward
WASHINGTON, Feb 19 (Reuters) – The Trump administration took steps on Thursday toward ending federal housing assistance for households with mixed immigration status, as it seeks to stop ineligible migrants from benefiting from the funding.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said it estimates approximately 24,000 undocumented migrants, ineligible migrants and “fraudsters” in 20,000 mixed-status households benefit from HUD assistance.
Under the proposed rule, a family would not be eligible for assistance unless every member residing in a household is determined to have eligible status.
Families with at least one family member with U.S. citizenship or eligible immigration status would be eligible for prorated assistance.
It would also require verification of citizenship and eligible immigration status for people seeking federal housing assistance.
The department acknowledged the rule would adversely affect some tenants but said this would ultimately be offset by the reallocation of HUD funds to the intended recipients.
“HUD’s proposed rule will guarantee that all residents in HUD-funded housing are eligible tenants,” Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Scott Turner said in a statement.
National Housing Law Project executive director Shamus Roller decried the move, which he said would evict tens of thousands of families with mixed immigration status from HUD housing and put many other federally-assisted tenants at risk.
In 2019, President Donald Trump’s first administration sought to implement a similar rule, but it was later withdrawn.
(Reporting by Jasper Ward in WashingtonEditing by Rod Nickel)
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