Oppose HUD's proposed rule that would make mixed immigration status families ineligible for benefits

April 21, 2026

Regulations Division

Office of General Counsel

Department of Housing and Urban Development

 

Regarding: HUD Docket 2026-1999, R-2026-03405: Housing and Community Development Act of 1980, Verification of Eligible Status

We are a group of health care professionals and community health advocates.  The non-medical drivers of health (housing, food, employment,  environment, etc) have the greatest influence on health and wellbeing and constitute about 80-90% of health outcomes.  Stable and safe housing is foundational to good health and must be a priority in our efforts to promote wellbeing and prevent costly health conditions. Our group strongly opposes the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) proposed rule (RIN 2501-AD89, FR-2026-03405) targeting lawfully present immigrants and U.S. citizens in immigrant families. The proposed rule will have widespread negative consequences for families and worsen the nation’s housing affordability crisis as well as the health of people in our communities.  HUD should abandon this proposal.

 

Safe and stable housing is critical for families, creating strong community connections, building economic self-sufficiency, and improving health care outcomes. Public housing and voucher programs provide subsidized housing for an estimated 10 million people in households with low incomes, many of whom are families with children, people with disabilities, and seniors. 

The proposed rule singles out “mixed families,” which the proposal defines as families “whose members include those with citizenship or eligible immigration status, and those without citizenship or eligible immigration status.” In so doing, the proposal punishes U.S. citizens, while doing nothing to increase the availability of affordable housing and help all families live in safe and stable housing, regardless of immigration status. 

Federal rental assistance enables families to afford decent and stable homes and sharply reduces their chances of experiencing homelessness. Safe and stable housing, in turn, is critical to the well-being and healthy development of children, while housing instability and homelessness are linked to immediate and long-term adverse effects, from school readiness to chronic disease in adulthood. 

Over 95 percent of children in mixed status families who are receiving HUD assistance are U.S. citizens. These children are eligible for prorated HUD rental assistance under Section 214 of the Housing and Community Development Act. Under the current rule, if their parents or caregivers are ineligible for housing assistance, they can still sign a lease on behalf of the family and pay for the remainder of their rent out-of-pocket. 

The proposed rule would bar children and other U.S. citizens who are eligible for housing subsidies from receiving them simply because they live with a family member with ineligible status. By doing so, the proposed rule increases their chances of housing instability and poverty and the adverse effects these hardships have on their health and well-being. 

The proposed rule forces families to choose between family separation or eviction and homelessness

 

According to HUD, approximately 20,000 mixed status families live in HUD-assisted housing. Ineligible individuals in these families pay a higher amount of rent and are able to remain with their families. The proposed rule will put these families in an impossible situation: stay together and get evicted or split the family up. Because most of the eligible individuals in mixed status families are children (and U.S. citizens), parents or caregivers will likely choose to keep the family together and therefore face eviction. 

In fact, the proposed rule could result in the eviction of 36,000 U.S. citizen children according to HUD’s estimate. For families already struggling to make ends meet, and with affordable housing in short supply, no longer receiving rental assistance will leave them vulnerable to homelessness, overcrowding, and/or frequent moves. 

 

Immigrant families account for 28% of the U.S. population, and one in four children in this country live in immigrant families. This proposed policy targeting immigrant families will not only create instability and negative long-term consequences among immigrants and their citizen children, it will have a huge impact on entire communities and the nation as a whole. HUD must abandon this proposal and keep current regulations in place. 

Sincerely, 

Mobilize Health Community