U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secre tary Scott Turner and U.S. Depart ment of Homeland Security Secretary Krisi Noem announced the housing program end. PHOTO COURTESY OF FHUD.GOV

By David L. Snelling

Miami – In another attack on illegal migrants living in the U.S., President Donald Trump’s administration has ended a program that allowed undocumented migrants to live in public housing.

The move is part of Trump’s massive illegal immigration crackdown which has deported over 28,000 migrants since he returned to political office in January.

In addition, Trump canceled the Temporary Protection Status (TPS) for over one million migrants from Haiti and Venezuela and were given until the end of April to return to their homelands or face deportation. This week a federal court delayed the expulsion of Venezuelans.

TPS allowed the migrants to work and live in America until the conditions and political upheaval improved in their homelands.

The Trump administration also ended the humanitarian parole program that allowed hundreds of thousands of migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to live and work in the U.S. for two years if they pass security screenings and secured U.S.-based financial sponsors.

Trump’s operation is now targeting migrants living in public housing.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Krisi Noem announced the launch of the American Housing Programs for American Citizens Act.

The previous program enacted by the Biden administration benefited illegal migrants instead of American citizens, Noem said.

Turner and Noemi said the move ends wasteful taxpayer dollars for illegal aliens while American citizens were struggling to find affordable housing.

“American tax dollars should be used for the benefit of American citizens, especially when it comes to an issue as pressing as our nation’s housing crisis,” Turner said. “This new agreement will leverage resources including technology and personnel to ensure American people are the only priority when it comes to public housing. We will continue to work closely with DHS to maximize our resources and put American citizens first.”

According to recent data from the Center for Immigration Studies, about 59 percent of illegal alien households use one or more welfare programs, creating roughly $42 billion in costs for the United States.

Across the country there are about 9 million residents of public and subsidized housing without proper information sharing to determine eligibility status.

In addition to the American Housing Programs for American Citizens, HUD, through its office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH), instructed Moving to Work (MTW) Public Housing Authorities to comply with the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980.

The act prohibits HUD-funded service providers from providing financial assistance to illegal immigrants.

Noem blames the Biden Administration for putting the needs of American citizens struggling for housing on the backburner.

“The Biden Administration prioritized illegal aliens over our own citizens, including by giving illegal aliens taxpayer-funding housing at the expense of Americans,” said Noem. “Not anymore.”

Noem said the new program will also identify abuse and exploitation of other public benefits.

“The government wants to make sure those in this country illegally are not receiving federal benefits or other financial incentives to stay illegally,” she said. “If you are an illegal immigrant, you should leave now.”

According to a 2023 study by the University of Miami, Florida was experiencing a surge of illegal migrants living in public housing which increased the cost of public services.

That includes public transportation, schools and infrastructure upgrades.

The increase was due to an influx of migrants entering South Florida through the programs that allowed them to live and work here.

It had raised some concerns about the allocation of housing units, where a 3-bedroom public housing unit could be home to both green card holders and undocumented migrants.

According to Andrea Heuson, a professor and co-director of real estate programs in the Miami Herbert Business School, with the influx of migrants living in public housing,

Miami-Dade is constantly looking for land to purchase for American citizens.

“It takes a good couple of years to even build affordable housing because they have to get the land, get an architect, and do a bunch of other things in the process,” she said. “However, there are about 17 acres of property acquired by Miami-Dade up for redevelopment, and every single residential building going into that area will have affordable housing.”