HUD Proposes Rule to Eliminate “Do Not Contend” Loophole for Public Housing Eligibility

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has proposed a new rule that would eliminate a decades-old loophole allowing illegal immigrants and other ineligible individuals to live in federally subsidized housing, marking a significant shift in housing policy enforcement.

The proposed change targets the “do not contend” provision, which currently permits “mixed-status” households to receive prorated housing assistance when some family members declare they “do not contend” their HUD eligibility based on immigration status. Under this system, families can maintain public housing residency with reduced subsidies even when certain members would otherwise be ineligible.

HUD Secretary Scott Turner’s proposal would require every household member to verify citizenship or prove eligible noncitizen status to continue receiving housing assistance. The change represents a stricter enforcement of existing federal housing laws dating back to the HUD Act of 1980, which prohibits financial assistance to ineligible noncitizens.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, the days of illegal aliens, ineligibles, and fraudsters gaming the system and riding the coattails of American taxpayers are over,” Turner said in a statement announcing the proposed rule change.

The rule would not categorically bar all noncitizens from public housing. Green card holders would remain fully eligible, as would refugees, asylees, and individuals whose deportation orders are being legally withheld due to threats of harm in their home countries. Cuban emigres who have fled the Communist regime, along with certain foreign victims of domestic violence or trafficking, would also maintain eligibility.

Turner, a former Washington Redskins cornerback, has criticized previous administrations for failing to enforce existing housing laws. In a Washington Post op-ed, he claimed that “liberal officials at both the federal and state level purposefully blurred and weakened the law by allowing some applicants for HUD assistance to simply sign a declaration of citizenship without requiring any documentation or proof.”

The proposed change effectively reverses reforms implemented during President Bill Clinton’s administration in 1996 that created the “do not contend” system. Turner’s proposal would make the prorated assistance option temporary rather than indefinite, pending eligibility verification.

Critics argue the policy change could have devastating consequences for mixed-status families. Shamus Roller, executive director of the National Housing Law Project, told the Associated Press that “Trump is trying to evict immigrant families, citizen and non-citizen, from HUD housing.” His colleague Sonya Acosta claimed the rule would force families to make an “agonizing choice between losing the assistance that helps them pay rent every month or separating their family.”

The proposal comes amid heightened focus on immigration policy and government spending under the Trump administration. Housing affordability remains a significant challenge across the United States, with long waiting lists for public housing assistance in many urban areas. HUD officials argue the rule change would prioritize limited housing resources for eligible U.S. citizens and qualified residents.

The proposal is expected to undergo a standard public comment period before potential implementation, during which housing advocates and immigration rights groups will likely voice their concerns about the impacts on mixed-status households currently receiving assistance.

If implemented, the rule would represent one of the most significant changes to public housing eligibility requirements in nearly three decades, potentially affecting thousands of families nationwide who currently benefit from the “do not contend” provision.