HUD Targets Mixed-Status Homes in Housing Aid Crackdown

The Trump administration is preparing to bar families with mixed immigration status from federal housing assistance, which could force tens of thousands of people from subsidized units and reshape the affordable housing landscape.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development plans to publish a proposed rule in the Federal Register Friday requiring every member of a household receiving aid to verify citizenship or eligible immigration status, according to Bisnow. If enacted, assistance would be limited to households in which all residents — regardless of age — can prove they are U.S. citizens, nationals or lawfully present noncitizens.

HUD acknowledged the rule would likely trigger evictions of mixed-status families but said those vouchers and units would be reallocated to “fully eligible” households. The agency framed the move as a crackdown on fraud and ineligible recipients.

HUD Secretary Scott Turner said the policy would ensure federally funded housing goes to “eligible tenants” and not “illegal aliens.”

Tenant advocates see it differently. The National Housing Law Project estimates more than 100,000 people, including roughly 37,000 children, could be displaced. The group called the proposal an attempt to “instill fear and hardship” in immigrant families, arguing it runs counter to existing federal housing law.

Once published, the rule will face a 60-day public comment period. If finalized, affected households would have 90 days to document the eligibility of every occupant or risk losing assistance.

For affordable housing operators, the implications are complex. On paper, vacated units could be backfilled by fully eligible tenants, potentially reducing waitlists. In practice, large-scale tenant turnover risks higher legal costs, vacancy loss and administrative burdens for housing authorities and private landlords reliant on HUD contracts.

The proposal also underscores HUD’s expanding role in executing the White House agenda.

The effort revives a similar proposal from Donald Trump’s first term and lands amid a broader immigration crackdown. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said last month the administration had deported more than 675,000 people since Trump’s second inauguration and that another 2.2 million had “self-deported,” figures disputed by outside researchers.

— Holden Walter-Warner