Sen. Bill Hagerty intends to introduce a bill that would, among other things, restrict federal housing assistance to illegal aliens.
“[Illegal aliens] have been allowed to participate in federally subsidized housing programs,” Hagerty told Fox News in a statement. “They’re using American taxpayer dollars to jump to the front of the line while putting Americans at the back of the line. It’s got to stop.”
His proposed bill, the End Housing Welfare for Illegal Aliens Act, would be a counterpart to the No Housing Welfare for Illegal Aliens Act proposed by House Rep. Chip Roy months earlier.
“For too long, hardworking Americans have been forced to watch their tax dollars bankroll benefits for individuals who broke our laws to enter this country,” Roy said in May.
“The No Housing Welfare for Illegal Aliens Act puts Americans first by ending housing subsidies for illegal aliens, shutting down loopholes for mixed-status households, and cutting off federal grants to sanctuary cities that defy federal immigration enforcement. Federal housing assistance should go to American citizens—not reward immigration lawbreakers and subversive localities,” he added.
Video via Fox News Digital
Hagerty’s bill in particular would reportedly codify the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) efforts to close loopholes “that allow illegal [aliens] to receive federal benefits on taxpayer-funded housing if they are roommates with eligible individuals,” according to Fox News.
“The Trump administration has taken a look at this,” the senator told Fox News. “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 “mixed-status loophole” refers to a longstanding feature of federal housing policy that allows some households containing both eligible and ineligible members to receive partial HUD housing assistance.
Federal law generally prohibits those who are unlawfully present in the U.S. from receiving HUD housing assistance. However, many families are “mixed-status” households:
- Two U.S.-citizen children and one undocumented parent
- A lawful permanent resident married to an undocumented spouse
- A U.S. citizen living with another relative who lacks eligible immigration status
Under current regulations, the ineligible person is not supposed to receive the federal housing subsidy. Instead, HUD “prorates” the family’s assistance based only on the members who are eligible. The household pays a larger share of the rent than a fully eligible family would, but the family can remain together in the same unit.
Under Secretary Scott Turner, HUD is trying to close this loophole. Hagerty’s bill would take it a step further by making the rule change stick across multiple administrations, including a potential Democrat one.
“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,” Hagerty said.
According to him, his bill would also eliminate Biden-era incentives for sanctuary cities by blocking the cities from accessing Community Development Block Grants (CBDG).
“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,” he added.
His bill would also mandate that public housing authorities verify citizenship before handing out assistance. And it’d prohibit illegal aliens from taking advantage of HUD’s affordable housing program for low-income elderly and people with disabilities.
“Illegal aliens are pushing out and crowding out people that are disabled, American taxpayers that are disabled, elderly that are disabled,” Hagerty insisted.
“The goal is to pass the legislation. And I think if you polled Americans, you’d find this is extraordinarily popular,” he added.
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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