Taxpayer-funded housing for illegal immigrants in GOP's crosshairs: 'It's got to stop'

EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., is introducing new legislation that works to restrict illegal aliens from reaping federal housing benefits, blocking loopholes and cutting off access for sanctuary cities to receive federal community development grants.

"[Illegal immigrants] have been allowed to participate in federally subsidized housing programs," Hagerty told Fox News Digital. "They're using American taxpayer dollars to jump to the front of the line while putting Americans at the back of the lines. It's got to stop."

The End Housing Welfare for Illegal Aliens Act is part of a larger effort by both the Trump administration and GOP members of Congress to halt illegal immigrants and sanctuary cities' ability to thrive, which they claim often comes at the expense of benefits for the American people.

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"The Trump administration has taken a look at this," Hagerty said. "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 bill Hagerty is putting forward codifies the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) efforts to close loopholes that allow illegal immigrants to receive federal benefits on taxpayer-funded housing if they are roommates with eligible individuals.

"HUD housing assistance is intended for U.S. citizens and certain eligible noncitizens, yet HUD resources serve only a quarter of eligible households in need," HUD said in a statement. "Meanwhile, a recent HUD and DHS audit of all assisted households identified nearly 200,000 tenants with incomplete or unknown eligibility verification. Furthermore, HUD estimates approximately 24,000 illegal aliens, ineligibles and fraudsters in 20,000 ‘mixed status households’ benefit from HUD assistance."

Hagerty’s bill, if passed, would enforce this proposed rule by HUD Secretary Scott Turner under all administrations.

"This current administration is going to do everything it can, I'm certain, to stop this type of fraudulent behavior," Hagerty said. "But what I want to do is preclude this from happening if there were ever to be another Democrat administration."

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Hagerty also said the legislation would eliminate Biden-era incentives for sanctuary cities by denying these cities access to Community Development Block Grants (CBDG), federal funding that supports affordable housing, infrastructure and local services.

He also argued that, under the Biden administration, the adoption of sanctuary city policies was incentivized because those lacking citizenship documentation are still included in population counts when considering congressional representation.

"What the Biden administration did, they were creating incentives for people to come here illegally," Hagerty said. "You think about where they situated sanctuary cities — in blue states, where they're losing population, where they’re losing voters."

"Why?" Hagerty said. "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."

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The bill would require public housing authorities to verify citizenship before providing housing assistance. This would change the law so agencies "shall" verify citizenship, meaning they are legally required to do so, instead of saying they only "may" do so.

It would also specifically bar illegal immigrants from being eligible for both Section 202 and Section 811, which provide affordable housing 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 said.

Hagerty’s efforts to crack down on any negligence in restricting illegal immigrants from federal programs comes amid a broader fight by the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress to crack down on illegal immigration throughout the country.

"The goal is to pass the legislation," Hagerty said. "And I think if you polled Americans, you'd find this is extraordinarily popular."