Following multistate lawsuit, HUD agreed not to restrict access to housing grants based on immigration status while litigation continues 

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued a legal alert informing state and local agencies that they are not required to verify the immigration status of recipients and subrecipients of U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funded benefits programs identified in a HUD notice issued on November 26, 2025, while a multistate lawsuit challenging HUD’s notice is pending before the U.S. District Court of Rhode Island. Attorney General Bonta also reminds these agencies that requesting immigration status, in the absence of a federal requirement, may violate California law. In July 2025, Attorney General Bonta and a multistate coalition sued the Trump Administration over its abrupt decision to restrict access to more than a dozen public benefit programs based on immigration status. The coalition secured a court order temporarily blocking implementation of these restrictions, and subsequently secured an agreement with HUD to suspend enforcement of its notice and the notice’s immigration verification requirements until the district court issues a final judgment. This means there is no current legal obligation for grantees and subgrantees to collect and verify the immigration status for recipients of the HUD-funded programs listed in its November 2025 agency notice.

“The Trump Administration wants to reverse longstanding federal policy and restrict access to affordable housing and other public benefit programs. California sued, secured a preliminary injunction blocking these policies, and HUD agreed not to enforce these restrictions while our litigation continues,” said Attorney General Bonta. “This means that state and local agencies need not – and should not – restrict access to these benefits. Any attempt to do so may violate California’s anti-discrimination laws. California remains committed to protecting the health and well-being of our most vulnerable families and ensuring they feel safe and supported when accessing these critical programs.”

In September 2025, Attorney General Bonta and a coalition secured a preliminary injunction blocking the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Labor, Department of Justice, and Department of Education from implementing various agency notices significantly expanding federal public benefit ineligibility based on immigration status. Despite this, HUD subsequently issued its own notice attempting to apply eligibility restrictions to various affordable housing programs. In December 2025, the multistate coalition added HUD and its Secretary, Eric Scott, as defendants in their litigation, and subsequently secured an agreement with HUD to stay enforcement of its agency notice until the district court issues a final merits judgment on the lawsuit.

Since then, the California Department of Justice has received reports of local agencies that receive and distribute annual federal funding from HUD requesting subgrant applicants and recipients to verify the immigration status of individuals receiving assistance through a HUD-funded program listed in its notice. In a legal alert today, Attorney General Bonta informs state and local agencies that the HUD notice is not currently in effect and there is no obligation for grantees and/or subgrantees to verify the immigration status of recipients of benefits funded through HUD listed grant programs until notified otherwise. Requesting immigration status without a federal requirement to do so may violate California’s anti-discrimination laws, including the Unruh Civil Rights Act, the Fair Employment and Housing Act, California Government Code section 11135, and the Immigrant Tenant Protection Act, which prohibit discrimination on the basis of national origin and immigration status.