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Section 214 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980, as amended (Section 214) prohibits the Secretary of HUD from making financial assistance available to persons other than United States citizens, nationals, or certain categories of eligible noncitizens in HUD’s public and specified assisted housing programs. This proposed rule would require the verification of U.S. citizenship or eligible immigration status of recipients of assistance under a covered program and make prorated assistance a temporary condition pending verification of eligible status. The proposed rule also proposes technical changes to remove outdated acronyms and terminology.

Statement of Need:

The proposed rule would ensure better implementation to statutory authorities and align with President Trump’s Executive Order to ensure that federal public benefits do not go to unqualified aliens.

Summary of the Legal Basis:

This falls within HUD's authority to issue regulations under section 7(d) of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act (42 U.S.C. 3535(d)).

Alternatives:

In developing this proposed rule, HUD considered alternatives. Alternatives such as grandfathering in existing mixed families or continuing to provide housing assistance to specific subsets of mixed families would decrease administrative and transition costs. However, these alternatives would lead to decreased compliance with Section 214 and this Administration’s immigration priorities.

Anticipated Costs and Benefits:

Consistent with the current Administration’s regulatory reform efforts, these proposed regulatory amendments are consistent with the principles of Executive Order 13828 and 14218 and the current Administration’s regulatory reform efforts.  The policy changes will bring HUD’s regulations into greater alignment with the requirements of Section 214 and make the administrative process for verification more uniform for citizens and eligible noncitizens, as well as ensure that only U.S. citizens or nationals and eligible noncitizens under Section 214 and other relevant legal authorities have access to HUD financial assistance.

The proposed rule would impose administrative costs on responsible entities and HUD. Most of the costs of the rule would be upfront costs of adjustment, borne by the households adversely affected.

Risks:

Verification costs for tenants and applicants may increase the burden of complying with this rule. However, HUD believes based on research and data that methods of verification offset this burden and that verification costs are a necessary cost to ensure compliance with the law.