The U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has proposed a rule that would effectively prohibit illegal immigrants from receiving financial housing assistance.
The secretary of HUD, Ben Carson, wrote on Twitter that HUD has always been prohibited from making financial assistance available to people with ineligible immigration status. But a loophole still allowed for it, and Carson said the new rule would close the loophole and ensure the enforcement of the law.
“The proposed rule would require the verification of the eligible immigration status of all recipients of assistance under a covered program who are under the age of 62,” according to the proposal.
.@HUDgov is proposing a rule to close a loophole and ensure we enforce what is already law: pic.twitter.com/O1qfx7T13b
— Ben Carson (@SecretaryCarson) May 10, 2019
President Trump issued an executive order in 2018 requiring that government assistance only be given to people with eligible immigration statuses. The proposition reads that it suits the president’s order.
According to an analysis by HUD, approximately 25,000 “mixed households” are receiving housing assistance. Mixed households contain at least one person who is ineligible for assistance.
Mixed households receive prorated assistance, but receive assistance nonetheless, which is what Carson said is a loophole.
Average Annual Subsidy
The analysis reads that mixed households each receive an average annual subsidy rate of $8,400. That amounts to a total of approximately $210 million per year.
Mixed households average at about four household members, with the majority containing one ineligible member. Under the new rule, the immigration status of all household members would need to be verified by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
If one household member is ineligible for financial assistance, the household may be given a transitional period to remove the ineligible member from the household or make other arrangements.
Household members over the age of 62 will not need to be verified by DHS, but they must submit a declaration stating that they are citizens or eligible non-citizens of the United States.
The proposed rule is in its comments phase, which means that until July 9, 2019, people may submit comments regarding the rule.