Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel Concludes Immigrant Welfare Eligibility Rules Apply to Public Housing

Today, the Department of Justice released an opinion for the Department of Housing and Urban Development which addresses the relationship between the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) and Section 214 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980. The Office of Legal Counsel’s interpretation finds that in order to receive housing benefits administered under Section 214, an alien must satisfy the eligibility requirements of both PRWORA and Section 214.

Under this finding, certain categories of aliens currently deemed eligible -- such as Haitian entrants and many parolees -- are in fact ineligible to take advantage of these HUD benefits. Even those categories of aliens who remain eligible must now satisfy further requirements before applying for such benefits. This finding creates further safeguards to protect American taxpayer resources, specifically in government-funded housing, from abuse by non-American citizens.

“Today’s opinion will prohibit ineligible aliens from draining funds for housing programs that are meant to help AMERICAN citizens,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “The current inadequate safeguards in place incentivize illegal immigration and make housing less affordable – this Department of Justice will continue working with HUD to put the American people first.”

“For far too long, the left abused the law, twisted interpretations, and helped illegals and ineligibles at the expense of taxpayers,” said HUD Secretary Scott Turner. “Meanwhile, millions of Americans languished on housing waitlists across the country. Today’s Department of Justice opinion upholds the law and reaffirms the Trump administration’s commitment to putting the American people first.”

This action comes as a follow-on to the Office’s December opinion about the meaning of “Federal means-tested public benefits” in PRWORA, which reversed a Clinton-era interpretation that had allowed ineligible aliens to receive federal welfare benefits.

Read the full opinion here.