HUD Launches Hotline to Crack Down on Crime, Illegal Immigrants in Public Housing

‘Illegal aliens have no place in public housing,’ Housing Secretary Scott Turner said.

Housing Secretary Scott Turner (R) with President Donald Trump in Washington on July 22, 2025. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner announced a new national hotline that allows public housing residents to report on criminals and illegal immigrants in HUD-funded housing.

The hotline, 1-800-347-3735, can be used by residents to call the HUD Office of the Inspector General for reporting “criminals, illegal aliens, sex offenders, human traffickers, and those guilty of gang activity, drug distribution, and fraud,” Turner said at a Nov. 24 press briefing in Memphis, Tennessee.

Residents can also submit tips on the 24/7 monitored HudOIG.gov/hotline website.

According to Turner, law enforcement personnel stand ready to assist with any complaints received through the hotline or website. The activity is coordinated with assistance from the FBI, the Department of Justice, and state and local partners.

He encouraged public housing residents to make use of the reporting platforms.

“We'll clean up our public housing so that they can fulfill their function of sanctuaries for the most vulnerable people in our country, where American citizens can get a temporary hand up and then gain independence from government help,” the housing secretary said.

“Illegal aliens have no place in public housing. It’s outrageous that people who should not be here come across our borders, and now usurp spots and housing units that support American people.

“Establishing this hotline is an important step in fighting this injustice for both the people of Memphis and for Americans nationwide.”

Turner said the hotline was part of President Donald Trump’s effort to make Memphis safe again, which includes the Memphis Safe Task Force. The task force was set up following a Sept. 15 directive from Trump that ordered the National Guard and government agencies to assist in restoring law and order in Memphis.

More than 3,000 violent fugitives have so far been arrested by the task force since the operation began in October, Turner said. This includes more than 300 known gang members and up to 12 homicide suspects.

An estimated 6.8 million Americans rely on public housing assistance, based on data from the National Center for Health in Public Housing (NCHPH).

According to a September 2020 report from NCHPH, crime rates are higher in areas where Public Housing Primary Care (PHPC) Health Centers are located than the national average. These centers provide medical services to patients living in public housing or in close proximity to it.

“There is an average of 505 violent crimes per 100,000 population in PHPC Health Center counties compared to the national average of 386 per 100,000,” the report reads.

Mixed-Status Families

Trump signed an executive order in February ordering agencies to ensure that “no taxpayer-funded benefits go to unqualified aliens.”

Following the executive order, Turner issued a letter to HUD grant recipients and stakeholders in April, informing them that federal housing assistance benefits will no longer be granted to illegal immigrants.

“The Department will take steps to ensure that Federal resources are not used to support ‘sanctuary’ policies of State and local jurisdictions that actively prevent federal authorities from deporting illegal aliens,” the letter reads.

In a Sept. 15 post, policy research group the Urban Institute raised concerns about how HUD’s policies would affect families in which members have varied immigration statuses.

The institute said that fewer than 1 percent of households receiving housing assistance are mixed-status and that the “HUD’s data request will have dire consequences” on this group, including psychological distress, financial hardship, and harm to children’s development.

HUD said in a Nov. 21 statement that it has supported housing affordability for more than 1 million Americans this year.

Since January 2025, the Federal Housing Administration, an agency under HUD, has insured mortgages for more than 700,000 homebuyers and refinance borrowers, which includes first-time homebuyers and senior citizens, it said.

During this period, the Government National Mortgage Association, or Ginnie Mae, has supported more than 430,000 Veterans Affairs loans, HUD said, adding that nearly a third of these loans went to first-time homebuyers.

“President Trump’s bold leadership is empowering HUD to use every tool at our disposal to make the American dream of homeownership a reality,” Turner said in a statement.