On February 20, 2026, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published a proposed rule that would limit federal housing assistance for families with mixed immigration statuses.
The proposed rule would revise HUD’s regulations implementing Section 214 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980 (Section 214), which limits financial assistance provided through HUD’s public housing programs to US citizens and certain categories of eligible noncitizens. Under the proposal, all applicants and recipients of federal housing assistance under a covered program, including Section 8 rental assistance and HUD’s Public Housing programs, would be required to verify their US citizenship or eligible immigration status before receiving assistance.
The proposed rule is the latest development in the Trump administration’s continued efforts to enhance immigration enforcement measures across federal government agencies.
Proposed rule
The current rule allows families with both eligible (i.e., US citizens or individuals who hold eligible immigration status) and ineligible (noncitizens who do not hold an eligible immigration status) members to receive assistance on a prorated basis, calculated using the percentage of eligible family members. The current rule also does not require verification of citizenship or eligible immigration status for residents in HUD-funded housing who have verified they are 62 years or older.
Key components of the proposed rule would:
- Require verification of the status of all family members regardless of age, and amend HUD’s Section 214 regulations to require, as a condition to continue receiving assistance, that all members of families – regardless of age – verify their citizenship or immigration status.
- Require documentation evidencing US citizenship, and require persons declaring US citizenship or US nationality to submit both a signed declaration and a signed verification consent form, permitting submission of their biographic information and a government-issued identifier (e.g., social security number) to the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program for verification. If this primary verification through SAVE does not confirm citizenship, the individual must submit acceptable documentation, such as a US birth certificate, naturalization certificate, US passport or certificate of citizenship for secondary verification. Currently, US citizens and nationals need only submit a signed declaration of citizenship, which is not required to be formally verified.
- Implement time limits on receiving prorated benefits. Families with at least one family member of any age who has US citizenship, US nationality or eligible immigration status would still be eligible for prorated assistance. However, prorated assistance would be limited to 30 days during the final verification of the eligibility of other family members, while under the current rule prorated assistance is indefinite.
Comments on the proposed rule are due by April 21, 2026.
Parallel efforts concerning HUD funding and immigration
This proposed rule aligns with the Trump administration’s priorities and regulatory reform efforts, including Executive Order 14218, “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders” (EO 14218). Section 2(a) of EO 14218 mandates that the heads of federal departments or agencies, including HUD, enhance eligibility verification systems “to ensure that taxpayer-funded benefits exclude any ineligible alien.” HUD asserts that this proposed rule is consistent with the administration’s efforts to “enhance the effectiveness of those regulations that are necessary, and promote principles underlying the rule of law, including ensuring the conformity of regulations with statutory mandates.”
The proposed rule also comes as public housing authorities approach a HUD-imposed deadline to re-verify the citizenship and immigration status of individuals in HUD-assisted housing.