Public Comments

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It is not apparent from the proposed form changes what information PHAs can collect and
use in making reliable eligibility determinations under Section 214.
The proposed form would allow a resident to "authorize the Social Security Administration
(SSA) to verify and disclose to HUD and HAs whether the name, Social Security Number
(SSN) and date of birth [the tenant has] submitted as part of this application matches
information in SSA records.” Historically, HUD has checked a person’s name, SSN, and
date of birth to verify a person’s identity, i.e., that they are who they say they are.2 PHAs did
not perform these checks themselves, nor have they used SSNs used to verify an
applicant’s or resident’s citizenship.
Indeed, SSA data is a highly unreliable means of verifying citizenship because it has been
collected for the purpose of administering Social Security benefits, not citizenship
verification.3 The citizenship information contained in SSA data is inaccurate and
incomplete, often, for example, misidentifying naturalized citizens as noncitizens because
their status change is not automatically updated.4 To the extent that the proposed form
changes allow HUD and PHAs to rely upon SSA data to verify citizenship, NHLP objects
because it will unnecessarily expose applicants and residents to errors that will jeopardize
their housing, even if they are citizens or eligible immigrants.
Moreover, Section 214 only authorizes verification of citizenship status “by requiring
presentation of documentation that the [HUD] Secretary considers appropriate, including a
United States passport, resident alien card, alien registration card, social security card, or
other documentation.”5 Nothing in Section 214 permits citizenship verification through
Social Security Numbers or using SSA data. Furthermore, HUD regulations provide that
“[f]or each family member, the family is required to submit evidence of eligible status only
one time during continuously assisted occupancy under any Section 214 program.”6 Any
HUD PIH-Notice 2018-24, Verification of Social Security Numbers (SSNs), Social Security (SS) and
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Benefits; and Effective Use of the Enterprise Income Verification (EIV)
System’s Identity Verification Report 6 (Nov. 27, 2018),
https://www.hud.gov/sites/dfiles/OCHCO/documents/18-24pihn.pdf.
3
League of Women Voters v. Dep’t of Homeland Security, No. CV 25-3501 (SLS), 2026 WL 1784297 (D.D.C.
June 22, 2026) (“SSA recognizes that its citizenship information is accurate for SSA’s program purposes’ only
– ‘if used for other purposes, it may not be current.”).
4
Kathleen Romig, Trump Administration’s Legally Dubious Misuse of Social Security Data Risks
Disenfranchising Eligible Voters (Dec. 9, 2025), https://www.cbpp.org/blog/trump-administrations-legallydubious-misuse-of-social-security-data-risks-disenfranchising; see also League of Women Voters v. Dep’t of
Homeland Security, [citation], (explaining that “[t]here is no obligation for an individual to report to SSA a
change in their citizenship or immigration status until they request a replacement card or file a claim for a
Social Security benefit’” and that “[t]hus, a naturalized citizen who applied for a Social Security card or
otherwise interacted with SSA prior to naturalization may be incorrectly identified as a non-citizen in SSA
records”).
5
42 U.S.C. § 1436a (d)(1)(A).
6
24 C.F.R. § 5.508.
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attempt to create a system that permits citizenship verification multiple times during a
person’s tenancy, therefore, would not be permitted.
Finally, if HUD intends to use the proposed form to require public housing authorities to
verify citizenship through the Department of Homeland Security’s Systematic Alien
Verification Entitlement (SAVE) system, this too is improper. On June 22, 2026, the court in
League of Women Voters v. Department of Homeland Security7 set aside and vacated the
current SAVE system for three specific uses, one of which is to access records from SSA,
including Social Security Numbers.8 HUD therefore should not be relying on SAVE.
Given the concerns raised above, we strongly urge HUD to withdraw this notice. If you have
any questions, please contact Marie Claire Tran-Leung,
Sincerely,
/s/ Marie Claire Tran-Leung
Marie Claire Tran-Leung
Managing Attorney
National Housing Law Project

No. CV 25-3501 (SLS), 2026 WL 1784297 (D.D.C. June 22, 2026).
The other two uses are: (1) to verify the records of natural-born citizens, and (2) to permit bulk searches by
SAVE users.

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