Taxpayer-funded housing for illegal immigrants in GOP's crosshairs: 'It's got to stop'

Sen. Bill Hagerty, Republican of Tennessee, this week introduced the "End Housing Welfare for Illegal Aliens Act," a measure crafted to bar illegal immigrants from federal housing benefits and close what supporters call dangerous loopholes in the nation’s housing assistance systems. The legislation arrives amid a sustained push by the Trump administration and GOP lawmakers to overhaul immigration and welfare policies they argue have placed undue strain on resources meant for American citizens.

The centerpiece of Hagerty’s proposal is a mandatory citizenship verification requirement for public housing authorities. Current regulations allow agencies to check eligibility; Hagerty’s bill would change the language to "shall" verify citizenship, turning a discretionary step into a legal requirement. The measure would also explicitly prohibit illegal immigrants from qualifying for Section 202 and Section 811 programs, which provide affordable housing to low-income elderly residents and people with disabilities. Hagerty argued the change is necessary to ensure that disabled seniors and disabled veterans who are U.S. citizens are not displaced by individuals in the country illegally.

Underlying the bill are figures from a recent joint HUD and DHS audit of assisted households. That review found nearly 200,000 tenants with incomplete or unknown eligibility verification. HUD estimates that approximately 24,000 illegal aliens, along with ineligibles and fraudsters, are receiving benefits through about 20,000 "mixed status households." A department statement emphasized that housing assistance is intended for U.S. citizens and certain eligible noncitizens, yet the programs currently serve only a quarter of households deemed eligible for aid.

"Illegal immigrants have been allowed to participate in federally subsidized housing programs," Hagerty told reporters. "They're using American taxpayer dollars to jump to the front of the line while putting Americans at the back of the lines. It's got to stop."

The legislation also targets sanctuary cities by denying them access to Community Development Block Grants—federal funds that support affordable housing, infrastructure, and local services. Hagerty contended that the previous administration’s policies created perverse incentives, pointing out that non-citizens are still included in population counts used to determine congressional representation and electoral votes. "What the Biden administration did, they were creating incentives for people to come here illegally," he said. "You think about where they situated sanctuary cities — in blue states, where they're losing population, where they're losing voters. Why? 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."

Hagerty said the current White House will fight the practice, but he wants the law in place to prevent a future administration from reversing course. "This current administration is going to do everything it can, I'm certain, to stop this type of fraudulent behavior," he said. "But what I want to do is preclude this from happening if there were ever to be another Democrat administration." He added that he believes the measure would prove "extraordinarily popular" if put to a public vote.

The bill is the latest in a series of Republican-led efforts to tighten immigration enforcement and restrict federal benefits. By mandating stricter eligibility checks, barring access to key housing programs for those without legal status, and conditioning community development funding on cooperation with federal immigration standards, supporters say the act aims to restore integrity to programs designed first and foremost for American citizens and legally qualified residents.

Hagerty’s office has not announced a timeline for a floor vote, but the senator indicated he is optimistic about building bipartisan awareness. "The goal is to pass the legislation," he said, "and I think if you polled Americans, you'd find this is extraordinarily popular."