Residents of federally funded public housing will be required to provide proof of U.S. citizenship or eligible immigration status under a new rule published by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The measure could displace nearly 80,000 individuals, including tens of thousands of citizens residing in mixed-status families, according to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan research and policy institute.
Since 1995, mixed-status families have been permitted to reside together in HUD-funded housing, provided that federal subsidies covered only eligible household members. The new rule may compel these families to choose between remaining together in non-public housing or separating their households entirely.
“This is tearing apart families and sowing division,” said Marie Claire Tran-Leung, director of the Evictions Initiative Project and managing attorney at the National Housing Law Project.
The previous policy, which allowed mixed-status families to cohabitate, functioned effectively for all parties involved, according to Tran-Leung. Mixed-status households frequently paid a higher proportion of rent, as their subsidies were prorated, experts note. Should these families be compelled to vacate public housing, HUD would likely encounter significant financial shortfalls, Tran-Leung added.
Approximately 20,000 mixed-status families, representing around 80,000 individuals, could be affected by the rule, according to CBPP data. Of those, roughly 37,000 are children, the majority of whom are U.S. citizens.
The rule is scheduled to take effect on December 14.
“President Trump warned that the days of illegal aliens and ineligible noncitizens exploiting government-funded welfare programs would be over,” said HUD Secretary Scott Turner in an official statement. “It’s unacceptable that America’s homeless veterans, disabled, elderly, and victims of domestic violence languish on waitlists while illegals and ineligibles scam our system. American taxpayers will no longer foot the bill. Promises made, promises kept.”
Turner’s statement further noted that a recent audit identified nearly 200,000 tenants with incomplete or unverified eligibility status. At present, HUD-funded housing serves only a quarter of eligible households in need.
Families across all 50 states stand to be affected, with the highest concentrations in New York, California, and Texas. The rule would impact more than 7,000 mixed-status households in California and approximately 2,500 in New York, according to a coalition of 22 state attorneys general who have formally opposed the measure.
In an April letter, the coalition wrote that the rule “would inflict significant economic costs on the States and exacerbate the affordable housing crisis.”
Housing authorities in California, New York, and Texas were contacted to provide clarity on how the rule would be implemented and enforced at the local level.
During the first Trump administration in 2019, HUD attempted to revise the longstanding provision; however, the proposed change was withdrawn in 2021. In February 2026, the agency reintroduced the proposed rule, which drew more than 11,000 public comments from individuals, advocacy organizations, and members of Congress over a three-month comment period.
Responses also came from members of the general public. Claire Stanley, a senior residing in public housing in Auburn, Washington, wrote: “There is no justification for this rule , it won’t save money because the increase in homelessness will cost more than just allowing families to stay together.” Another commenter, Mark Smith of Oconto Falls, Wisconsin, urged in March: “Please withdraw the proposal and think about what Jesus would do.”
