HUD, DHS Sign Memorandum of Understanding
On March 24, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem signed the “American Housing Programs for American Citizens” Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). As part of this new agreement, HUD will provide a staff member to assist in operations at the Incident Command Center (ICC), establishing an interagency partnership to facilitate data sharing and ensure taxpayer-funded housing programs are only accessed by legal residents.
Currently only eligible US residents qualify for rental assistance from HUD. Public housing agencies (PHAs) calculate rental subsidy based on the number of eligible residents in a household, and do not provide funding or support to ineligible family members who may be in the household. Rent subsidies are prorated to ensure no federal funding goes to ineligible households and that federal rental assistance is only provided to eligible US residents.
NAHRO and its more than 26,000 members are committed to providing safe, decent and affordable homes to eligible families and to working with our local and federal partners to ensure that all rules and regulations are followed. Recently, NAHRO partnered with a group of housing and law experts on a webinar aimed at helping entities navigate immigration enforcement in PHA properties. The webinar is available to view on the NAHRO website.
NAHRO will continue to monitor current events and provide information and analysis to its members and other stakeholders.