Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner announced Monday that their agencies will collaborate to prevent illegal immigrants from residing in public housing.
According to a new memorandum of understanding between the two agencies, the Trump administration intends to end the “wasteful misappropriation” of taxpayer funds used to subsidize housing for illegal migrants by requiring DHS to “identify illegal aliens who are ineligible for Federal housing assistance” to HUD.
“American tax dollars should be used for the benefit of American citizens, especially when it comes to an issue as pressing as our nation’s housing crisis,” Turner told reporters.
“This new agreement will leverage resources including technology and personnel to ensure American people are the only priority when it comes to public housing.”
“We will continue to work closely with DHS to maximize our resources and put American citizens first.”
According to the MOU, the cooperation agreement will benefit “veterans in need” by facilitating “data sharing” between HUD and DHS.
“The Biden administration prioritized illegal aliens over our own citizens, including providing illegal aliens with taxpayer-funded housing at the expense of Americans.
No more,” Noem said in a statement. “The entire government will work together to identify abuse and exploitation of public benefits and make sure those in this country illegally are not receiving federal benefits or other financial incentives to stay illegally.”
“If you are an illegal immigrant, you should leave now,” the DHS chief said. “The gravy train is over.”
HUD cited Center for Immigration Studies data indicating that approximately 59% of illegal migrant households benefit from at least one government welfare program, resulting in approximately $42 billion in costs.
According to the agency, at least 9 million people live in public and subsidized housing “without proper information sharing to determine eligibility status.”
In addition to signing the MOU, Turner directed the offices of Public and Indian Housing (PIH), Moving to Work (MTW), and Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) to follow federal laws that already prohibit HUD-funded service providers from providing financial assistance to illegal migrants.
