HUD Threatens Housing Aid Over Tenant Immigration Data

The Trump administration is putting public housing authorities on notice: cough up data on tenants’ immigration status or risk losing federal support.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is preparing letters to more than 3,000 housing agencies nationwide demanding details on residents’ citizenship and how the authorities comply with federal law, according to Bisnow.

The Washington Examiner first reported that HUD Secretary Scott Turner warned agencies that failure to comply could trigger funding cuts or eligibility reviews. The first letter is slated for the D.C. Housing Authority.

The directive builds on President Donald Trump’s February executive order, Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders, which sought to block “unqualified aliens” from receiving federal benefits. HUD followed up with an April letter saying housing aid “will no longer be granted to illegal aliens or sanctuary cities.”

Turner’s latest push signals HUD intends to enforce those rules through direct oversight of local housing agencies.

The political backdrop looms large. Earlier this month, Trump sent National Guard troops into D.C. and assumed control of local policing, part of a broader law-and-order campaign targeting the capital. He has since ordered HUD to review DCHA’s safety and maintenance protocols.

For landlords and developers, the move underscores how federal housing dollars — a lifeline for many urban markets — are increasingly entangled with immigration enforcement.

PHAs must already verify eligibility under 1980 and 1996 laws that bar most noncitizens from receiving public benefits, though enforcement has historically been uneven. A Congressional Research Service report noted those restrictions have never been fully implemented.

Industry sources say the demands could put housing authorities in a bind. Many applications collect Social Security numbers but not explicit citizenship data, leaving agencies to choose between devising fresh vetting systems or risking federal penalties.

Pushing immigrant households out of subsidy programs could affect affordability crises in cities already strapped for low-income units, housing advocates warned, according to the Vanguard News Group.

It’s also unclear how the order complies with the Fair Housing Act.

— Holden Walter-Warner