CBA Record November-December 2025

THE YOUNG LAWYERS SECTION

Federal Immigration Status Restrictions: Housing Assistance for Mixed-Status Households

By Kushtrim Ashiku

F amilies whose members have different immigration status es—i.e., “mixed-status” families, some of whose members are eligible to immigrate, others who are not—can be caught in a quandary for federal housing assistance. Recent changes in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) policies based on two key laws have created particular confusion about the eligibility of mixed-status families for federal housing assistance. Section 214 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980 and Title IV of the Personal Responsibility and Work Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) are the two primary sources of immigration status restrictions on eligibility for federal housing programs. And it’s important for immigration lawyers to understand the new developments with these laws so they can appropriately support clients in mixed-status families. Section 214 Programs and Mixed-Status Households Section 214 programs provide housing subsidies to approxi mately five million low-income noncitizen families. These pro grams include HUD’s Public Housing program, the Housing Choice Voucher program, and the Section 8 project-based rental assistance program. Thanks to the PRWORA’s passage, Section 214 was amended to include certain rural housing assistance pro grams administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, such as the Section 521 Stand-Alone Rental Assistance program, the Section 542 Rural Development Vouchers program, the Section 502 Single Family Direct Loan program, and the Section 504 Very Low-Income Rural Housing Repair loan and grant program. Section 214 introduced the first federal restrictions on non citizens’ eligibility for federal housing assistance. Families with at least one U.S. citizen or eligible immigrant are allowed to live in a HUD-subsidized housing unit. It further authorizes the HUD Secretary to withhold federal housing assistance from noncitizens unless they meet certain

eligibility requirements. To qualify, individuals must reside in the United States and meet one of the following categories: lawful permanent residents; survivors of domestic violence; refugees, asylees, and parolees; individuals granted withholding of removal based on a risk of persecution; or citizens of a Freely Associated State. The policy explicitly excludes unauthorized immigrants, recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders, and temporary non immigrants. However, mixed-status households are subject to special rules under Section 214’s federal housing programs. Despite having ineligible members, mixed-status households are permitted to receive HUD-subsidized housing assistance if at least one family member is a U.S. citizen or otherwise meets the required criteria. The caveat is that, in implementing Section 214 to provide housing assistance for mixed-status families, HUD regulations require that the assistance be prorated. The prorated benefit is determined by reducing the household’s total subsidy in propor tion to the number of eligible members. In other words, only those with verified eligible immigration status are factored into the full benefit calculation that each mixed-status household receives. So, to receive prorated assistance, households applying for aid must undergo immigration status verification. Ineligible individuals may opt not to contest their immigration status, which enables the household to receive a partial subsidy based on the eligible members. In 2019, the Trump administration directed HUD to propose a rule flatly prohibiting mixed-status households from receiving federal housing assistance. According to HUD’s own internal analysis, the proposed rule would have displaced 25,000 immi grant families, including 55,000 children, the vast majority of whom were U.S. citizens and eligible for housing assistance. At the time of the proposal, two-thirds of people in mixed-status households were U.S. citizens, most of them children. Despite

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