WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump's administration proposed a rule Wednesday night intended to prevent migrants in the country illegally from receiving federal housing assistance, the latest step in its efforts to ramp up enforcement of the nation's immigration laws.
The proposal, according to an administration official, is intended to overturn what the official described as a loophole under President Bill Clinton that allowed some migrants to obtain public housing without revealing their citizenship status. The rule would ensure that the social safety net is awarded only to verified U.S. citizens and legal residents.
The long waiting lists for public housing prompted the crackdown, the official said, adding that the rule would affect about 25,000 households.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development, which proposed the rule, would require expanded use of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements Program, known as SAVE, a program administered by the Department of Homeland Security.
The program is meant to help federal and local government agencies quickly verify a person's immigration and citizenship status and determine whether people are eligible for benefits. It was not immediately clear whether HUD was also targeting migrants who are in the country illegally and are living in public housing with a spouse or a family member who is a U.S. citizen.
A HUD spokesman, Raffi Williams, did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security declined to comment.
Julian Castro, the former housing secretary under President Barack Obama and a current Democratic presidential candidate, criticized the proposal.
"Once again, the Trump administration is using the immigrant community as a punching bag to distract his base from his own political troubles," he said. "The bottom line is that our government is terrorizing families -- first with [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] raids, now with evictions."
The rule was delivered to Congress on Wednesday night for a 15-day review period. After that, there will be 60 days for public comment. If the rule goes into effect, such migrants living in public housing would not be immediately removed, the official said. They would be given up to 18 months, through three six-month waivers, to relocate.
The move is not the first time the Trump administration has sought to crack down on migrants using the public safety net. For months, Stephen Miller, one of Trump's top advisers and the architect of his immigration agenda, has pushed the administration to complete a new regulation that would penalize immigrants in the country legally who rely on public benefits like Section 8 housing vouchers or food assistance.
The regulation would give officials more power to declare an immigrant who uses welfare benefits to be a "public charge," making him ineligible for permanent legal status.
The White House has freed immigration officers around the country to round up and deport migrants who are in the U.S. without authorization.
A Section on 04/19/2019