An audit uncovered nearly 200,000 tenants needing eligibility review, including thousands of ineligible and deceased individuals, prompting a 30-day compliance mandate for housing authorities.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has ordered immediate citizenship and immigration status verification for all tenants receiving HUD-funded housing nationwide, citing widespread eligibility discrepancies uncovered during a joint audit with the Department of Homeland Security.
In a Jan. 23 statement, HUD said the review is intended to ensure taxpayer-funded housing assistance is not being provided to ineligible individuals, including illegal immigrants and deceased tenants. The audit found nearly 200,000 tenants requiring eligibility verification, almost 25,000 tenants listed as deceased, and close to 6,000 non-American tenants deemed ineligible for federal housing benefits.
HUD announced that all Public Housing Authorities and property owners participating in HUD-funded housing programs have 30 days to take corrective action. “HUD announced that all Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) and owners participating in HUD-funded housing have 30 days to take corrective action to address these findings,” the department said.
Within that timeframe, PHAs and owners are required to review their EIV-SAVE Tenant Match Report. The Enterprise Income Verification system is designed to reduce errors and ensure limited federal housing resources are reserved for eligible households. The Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program is an intergovernmental service used to verify immigration status for benefit eligibility.
HUD said housing providers must also confirm that immigration or citizenship information has been accurately reported for each household and must take corrective action to resolve errors. Failure to comply could result in sanctions, including the recapture of funds. “HUD will recapture funding for payments made on behalf of ineligible and deceased tenants,” the department warned.
HUD Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing Ben Hobbs said the verification order is intended to prioritize eligible American families and eliminate “waste, fraud, and abuse.” Hobbs said hundreds of thousands of Americans remain on housing waitlists nationwide, making strict eligibility enforcement necessary to ensure limited assistance reaches qualified households.
HUD Secretary Scott Turner said the department is working closely with DHS to implement the administration’s policy direction. “We are proud to collaborate with DHS to execute on the President’s agenda of rooting out abuse of taxpayer funded resources,” Turner said.
According to HUD, the directive follows President Donald Trump’s Feb. 19 presidential action titled “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders.” That declaration ordered executive agencies to identify federally funded programs that provide benefits to illegal immigrants and to take steps to end those practices.
“My Administration will uphold the rule of law, defend against the waste of hard-earned taxpayer resources, and protect benefits for American citizens in need, including individuals with disabilities and veterans,” the declaration stated.
US Housing Affordability
The citizenship verification order comes amid continued debate over housing affordability. Senate Democrats earlier this month accused the Trump administration of failing to lower housing costs, citing a Jan. 7 statement from the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
In a related report, Democrats said foreclosures rose 21 percent last year, the median age of first-time homebuyers reached a record 40, and more than 22 million families were spending over 30 percent of their income on rent, with more than 5 million households behind on rent payments.
“Donald Trump promised to lower costs ‘on Day One.’ Specifically, he claimed he would cut ‘the cost of a new home in half.’ He has failed,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Other housing data, however, show some easing of cost pressures. In January 2025, the weekly average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage peaked at 7.04 percent when Trump took office, then declined to 6.09 percent by the week ending Jan. 22, according to data from Freddie Mac.
Figures from the National Association of Realtors show that the share of income needed to afford a median-priced existing single-family home fell from 24.6 percent in January 2025 to 23.1 percent by November. Meanwhile, the median U.S. monthly housing payment dropped to $2,413 during the four weeks ending Jan. 11, the largest decline since October 2024 and down 5.5 percent year over year, according to a Jan. 15 report by real estate brokerage Redfin.
“Housing payments are coming down because mortgage rates are falling,” Redfin said.
The decline in rates has been attributed to Trump’s decision to direct federal agencies to purchase $200 billion in mortgage-backed securities in an effort to reduce housing costs, according to administration officials.
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