The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is cracking down on government-financed housing in the U.S. by ordering “immediate” citizenship verification for all tenants of HUD-financed housing, the agency announced Friday.
The call to action, the agency said, was prompted by a recent audit — conducted by HUD and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) — which found that nearly 200,000 renters required verification to qualify, nearly 25,000 had died and nearly 6,000 did not qualify as “non-U.S. renters.”
The agency is giving all public housing authorities (PHAs) and owners of HUD-financed housing 30 days to take action, according to a news release.
“We will leave no stone unturned,” HUD Secretary Scott Turner said in a statement. “We are proud to work with DHS to implement the President’s agenda to root out misuse of taxpayer-funded resources. Ineligible noncitizens cannot receive Social Security benefits. With this new guidance and audit, HUD is putting in place new processes to safeguard taxpayer resources and put the American people first.”
HUD Assistant Secretary of Housing and Indian Housing Ben Hobbs also characterized the move as a way to put Americans first while conserving resources.
“Today’s action to verify immigration eligibility for all HUD-supported households is a major step forward to ensure we put American families first and eliminate waste, fraud and abuse,” Hobbs said in the statement. “There are hundreds of thousands of American families on housing waiting lists across the country. It is essential that we prioritize our limited resources only to eligible families.”
HUD explained that the guidance is a follow-up to a letter the agency sent to PHAs and owners last month. The letter reminded recipients of their obligation to verify the citizenship and immigration status of individuals before admitting them to HUD housing, pursuant to Section 214 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980 and President Trump’s Executive Order 14218.
The timing of the announcement also coincided with tense protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in Minneapolis. On Friday, hundreds of local businesses in the Twin Cities closed their doors to unite in protest of federal immigration policies that have taken place in the area over the past six weeks.
Last year, HUD and DHS signed the American Housing Programs for American Citizens Memorandum of Understanding to limit the number of noncitizens who may benefit from HUD offers. With the agreement, HUD has provided the Incident Command Center (ICC) with a staff member to facilitate data sharing.
PHAs and owners will be required to review their Enterprise Income Verification “EIV-SAVE” Tenant Match Report, a HUD system that verifies residents’ information and income, over the next 30 days to ensure the home meets eligibility requirements, and “take corrective action” if residents do not qualify for HUD housing. The press release warned that PHAs and owners who do not comply will be subject to sanctions.
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