The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has proposed a new rule that would restrict public housing primarily to citizens. This proposed rule, now in the Federal Register, would revise HUD’s Section 214 implementing regulations to require the verification of U.S. citizenship or the eligible immigration status of all applicants and recipients of assistance under a covered program, regardless of age.
Section 214 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980 prohibits HUD from making certain financial assistance available to persons other than United States citizens or specified categories of eligible foreigners.
HUD’s existing regulations require all applicants and participants to disclose their Social Security Numbers (SSNs) or Employer Identification Numbers except for those who do not contend eligible immigration status. The proposal is to remove the “do not contend” provision.
HUD’s existing regulations also exclude participants in HUD housing programs age 62 or older as of January 31, 2010, from submitting certain information, including SSNs. Through this proposed rule, HUD is proposing to revise the phrase “except those age 62 or older as of January 31, 2010,” because this proposed rule would require all applicants and tenants in Section 214 covered programs to submit evidence of U.S. citizenship or eligible immigration status regardless of age.
This change would affect all participants 62 years of age or older as of January 31, 2010, and all participants who had previously elected to not contend eligible immigration status, who have not yet provided a valid SSN.
The proposed rule would also make prorated assistance a temporary condition pending verification of the eligible status of all family members, where permitted by statute, as opposed to under HUD’s current regulations, where prorated assistance could continue indefinitely.
HUD acknowledges that this rulemaking would adversely affect some tenants and applicants for Section 214 covered programs, especially mixed families and ineligible foreigners. Mixed families are defined as members with an eligible immigration status and members with a pending verification status. The rulemaking primarily shifts assistance from mixed-status families to fully eligible households, with HUD stating that the associated costs are counterbalanced by the reallocation of funds to intended recipients.