A view of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development from the outside with the department’s name displayed on the side of the building. (Douglas Rissing / Getty Images)
By Michael Austin February 2, 2026 at 6:00am
The Department of Housing and Urban Development ordered the more than 200,000 tenants across all federally funded housing units to have their eligibility verified after an audit found high levels of deceased and foreign tenants.
According to a news release from the agency, the audit found 25,000 tenants who are deceased, as well as almost 6,000 that are not Americans.
That means all “Public Housing Authorities” and owners participating in HUD-funded housing now have “30 days to take corrective action to address these findings.”
“We will leave no stone unturned,” HUD Secretary Scott Turner vowed in the release.
Cleaning House’: HUD Orders Immediate Citizenship Verification for All Tenants in HUD-Funded Housing Nationwide
A HUD and @DHSgov audit into all tenants across HUD-funded housing discovered nearly 200,000 tenants requiring eligibility verification, nearly 25,000 deceased… pic.twitter.com/2MunlMtYrS
— Department of Housing and Urban Development (@HUDgov) January 23, 2026
“We are proud to collaborate with DHS to execute on the President’s agenda of rooting out abuse of taxpayer funded resources. Ineligible non-citizens have no place to receive welfare benefits,” he added.
“With this new directive and audit, HUD is putting new processes in place to safeguard taxpayer resources and put the American people first.”
The action comes one month after HUD sent a letter reminding owners that they are required by law to affirm citizenship and immigration status for individuals before they are allowed to stay in federally subsidized housing.
Early last year, both Turner and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem signed a memo called “American Housing Programs for American Citizens.”
The intention of the directive was to ensure “taxpayer-funded housing programs are not used to harbor or benefit illegal aliens.”
HUD acted swiftly to ensure illegal aliens are not in public housing or HUD-funded shelters, and to safeguard FHA-backed loans for American citizens ONLY.
The American people are no longer taking a back seat to illegal aliens in any HUD-funded programs. pic.twitter.com/UY4EOA644R
— Department of Housing and Urban Development (@HUDgov) January 20, 2026
“The Biden Administration prioritized illegally aliens over our own citizens, including by giving illegal aliens taxpayer-funding housing at the expense of Americans. Not anymore,” Noem previously said of the memo.
“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,” she added.
“If you are an illegal immigrant, you should leave now. The gravy train is over.”
Michael wrote for several entertainment news outlets before joining The Western Journal in 2020. He now serves as Managing Editor, which involves managing the editorial team and operations; guiding the editorial direction of The Western Journal; and writing, editing, curating and assigning stories as needed.
Birthplace
Ames, Iowa
Nationality
American
Education
Iowa State University
Topics of Expertise
Cultural Politics, Entertainment News, Christian-Conservatism
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
