Senator Bill Hagerty, a Republican from Tennessee, has put forward new legislation designed to restrict access to federal housing benefits for undocumented immigrants. The bill, titled the "End Housing Welfare for Illegal Aliens Act," also seeks to close existing loopholes and prevent sanctuary cities from receiving federal community development grants.
This legislative push aligns with a broader strategy by Republican lawmakers and the previous Trump administration to curb the ability of undocumented immigrants and sanctuary cities to utilize public resources, which they argue often comes at the expense of eligible American citizens.
Proposed Restrictions on Federal Housing Assistance
Senator Hagerty highlighted that preliminary assessments from the Trump administration indicated approximately 24,000 individuals without legal immigration status were utilizing programs administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
"The Trump administration has taken a look at this," Hagerty stated. "The preliminary estimates are 24,000 of these illegals are utilizing HUD programs. Again, crowding out Americans that would be deserving of these programs, and again, putting illegals into these positions."
The proposed legislation aims to codify into law HUD's efforts to eliminate loopholes that currently allow undocumented immigrants to receive taxpayer-funded housing benefits, particularly when residing with eligible individuals in "mixed-status households."
HUD itself has acknowledged challenges in its programs. In a statement, the department noted that its housing assistance is intended for U.S. citizens and certain eligible non-citizens, yet currently serves only a quarter of eligible households in need. Furthermore, a joint audit by HUD and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) identified nearly 200,000 tenants with incomplete or unverified eligibility. HUD estimates that roughly 24,000 individuals described as "illegal aliens, ineligibles, and fraudsters" across 20,000 "mixed status households" are currently benefiting from HUD assistance.
If enacted, Senator Hagerty's bill would ensure that HUD Secretary Scott Turner's proposed rule to tighten these eligibility requirements is enforced across all future administrations.
Hagerty commented, "This current administration is going to do everything it can, I'm certain, to stop this type of fraudulent behavior. But what I want to do is preclude this from happening if there were ever to be another Democrat administration."
The bill would also mandate that public housing authorities verify citizenship before providing housing assistance. This change would alter the legal language from allowing agencies to "may" verify citizenship to requiring them to "shall" do so, making verification a legal obligation.
Additionally, the legislation would specifically render undocumented immigrants ineligible for Section 202 and Section 811 programs, which provide affordable housing options for low-income elderly individuals and people with disabilities, respectively.
"Illegal aliens are pushing out and crowding out people that are disabled, American taxpayers that are disabled, elderly that are disabled," Hagerty asserted.
Targeting Sanctuary City Incentives
Beyond housing benefits, Senator Hagerty's bill seeks to eliminate what he describes as incentives for sanctuary cities established under the current administration. The legislation proposes denying these cities access to Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), which are federal funds supporting affordable housing, infrastructure projects, and various local services.
Hagerty contended that the adoption of sanctuary city policies was encouraged because individuals lacking citizenship documentation are still included in population counts, which influence congressional representation.
"What the Biden administration did, they were creating incentives for people to come here illegally," Hagerty claimed. "You think about where they situated sanctuary cities —- in blue states, where they're losing population, where they’re losing voters."
He further elaborated on the perceived motivation behind these policies.
"Why?" Hagerty asked. "Because you can count these illegal aliens for the purpose of allocating congressional districts. You can count them for the purpose of locating electoral votes. That is the motive behind the crime."
Broader Immigration Enforcement Efforts
Senator Hagerty's legislative initiative to address perceived negligence in restricting undocumented immigrants from federal programs is part of a larger ongoing effort by Republicans in Congress and the previous Trump administration to strengthen immigration enforcement nationwide.
"The goal is to pass the legislation," Hagerty stated, adding, "And I think if you polled Americans, you'd find this is extraordinarily popular."
