- HUD Guidance
Date Published: August 2016
This letter issued jointly by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) reminds recipients of federal funds how the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 applies to their programs.
Housing and service providers must not turn away immigrants experiencing homelessness or victims of domestic violence or human trafficking, on the basis of their immigration status, from certain housing and services necessary for life or safety – such as street outreach, emergency shelter, and short-term housing assistance including transitional housing and rapid re-housing funded through the Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) and Continuum of Care (CoC) Programs. This letter reiterates existing laws and policies and applies those policies to programs that were not in effect when the original Attorney General Order was signed in 2001.
For more information about PRWORA’s application to HUD’s homeless assistance programs, view the PRWORA and HUD’s Homeless Assistance Programs Fact Sheet.