Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner and Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem have launched a new inter-agency initiative to prevent illegal immigrants from accessing federal housing funds.
On Monday, the two secretaries signed a Memorandum of Understanding, formalizing their collaboration to stop what they call the “wasteful misappropriation” of taxpayer-funded public housing. The initiative establishes new channels for data sharing between HUD and DHS, ensuring that federal housing resources are reserved for U.S. citizens. According to officials, American veterans will be among the primary beneficiaries of this policy shift.
“American tax dollars should be used for the benefit of American citizens, especially when it comes to an issue as pressing as our nation’s housing crisis,” Turner said. “This new agreement will leverage resources, including technology and personnel, to ensure American people are the only priority when it comes to public housing. We will continue to work closely with DHS to maximize our resources and put American citizens first.”
HUD Ends Public Housing Access for Illegal Immigrants
Currently, around 9 million people live in federally subsidized housing across the U.S., according to HUD. Meanwhile, approximately 59% of noncitizen households—including those with green card holders and illegal immigrants—rely on at least one public assistance program, costing taxpayers up to $42 billion annually, based on research from the Center for Immigration Studies.
During the Biden administration, tens of millions of dollars were spent on housing for migrants, including fully covered hotel stays for some. In response, states like Pennsylvania and Arizona passed measures to prevent illegal immigrants from taking public housing resources away from Americans in need.
Shortly after taking office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to halt illegal immigrants’ use of public benefits.
“The Biden Administration prioritized illegal aliens over our own citizens, including by giving illegal aliens taxpayer-funded housing at the expense of Americans. Not anymore,” Noem said. “The entire government will work together to identify abuse and exploitation of public benefits and make sure those in this country illegally are not receiving federal benefits or other financial incentives to stay. If you are an illegal immigrant, you should leave now. The gravy train is over.”
HUD Tightens Compliance with Housing Laws
As part of the initiative, HUD will assign a full-time staff member to the federal government’s Incident Command Center, which coordinates inter-agency efforts during national crises.
In addition, Turner has ordered all federal housing programs under HUD’s authority to strictly comply with Section 214 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980. This law prohibits HUD-funded service providers from offering assistance to illegal immigrants.
