WASHINGTON, D.C. – Recently, U.S. Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Tom Cotton (R-AR), and Mike Lee (R-UT) sent a letter to the Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge, concerning the recent decision to waive housing voucher requirements, which could improperly divert taxpayer dollars from the American Rescue Plan to illegal immigrants. The Senators urged Secretary Fudge to reconsider this policy, and instead focus her efforts on housing for more Americans in need during the ongoing pandemic.
“The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently issued guidance describing its process to allocate emergency housing vouchers (EHVs) to public housing agencies (PHAs),” wrote the Senators. “Under federal law, applicants for federal housing assistance must provide a Social Security Number (SSN) in order to qualify. According to the guidance issued by HUD regarding 70,000 EHVs, the agency is not requiring applicants to provide SSNs.”
The Senators continued, “We believe this is an invitation to fraud, waste, and abuse by illegal immigrants seeking to benefit from the taxpayer dollars of hardworking American citizens. This is wrong not just because it provides benefits to illegal immigrants over American citizens; it is wrong because we are currently in the throes of a crisis on our southern border. By allowing illegal immigrants to access these housing benefits without providing a SSN, HUD is encouraging further illegal immigration to the country in the middle of a pandemic when millions of hardworking Americans remain out of work and in desperate situations.”
Read the full letter here.
“The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently issued guidance describing its process to allocate emergency housing vouchers (EHVs) to public housing agencies (PHAs),” wrote the Senators. “Under federal law, applicants for federal housing assistance must provide a Social Security Number (SSN) in order to qualify. According to the guidance issued by HUD regarding 70,000 EHVs, the agency is not requiring applicants to provide SSNs.”
The Senators continued, “We believe this is an invitation to fraud, waste, and abuse by illegal immigrants seeking to benefit from the taxpayer dollars of hardworking American citizens. This is wrong not just because it provides benefits to illegal immigrants over American citizens; it is wrong because we are currently in the throes of a crisis on our southern border. By allowing illegal immigrants to access these housing benefits without providing a SSN, HUD is encouraging further illegal immigration to the country in the middle of a pandemic when millions of hardworking Americans remain out of work and in desperate situations.”
Read the full letter here.
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