# Harmonizing the Professional Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 and Section 214 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980

> Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel · February 18, 2026

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/11263093

## Case

- **Court:** Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel
- **Decided:** February 18, 2026
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Opinion
- **Cited by:** 0 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

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## Opinion text

(Slip Opinion)

Harmonizing the Professional Responsibility and Work
Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 and Section 214 of
the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980
Federal housing assistance programs under section 214 of the Housing and Community
Development Act of 1980 provide “Federal means-tested public benefits” within the
meaning of the Professional Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act
of 1996.
Alien applicants for federal housing benefits administered under section 214 must satisfy
both PRWORA’s and section 214’s eligibility requirements. Section 214’s detailed
verification scheme remains effective for all benefits administered under that section.

February 18, 2026

MEMORANDUM OPINION FOR THE GENERAL COUNSEL
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

This Office recently interpreted the phrase “Federal means-tested pub-
lic benefit” in the Professional Responsibility and Work Opportunity
Reconciliation Act of 1996 (“PRWORA”), Pub. L. No. 104-193, 110 Stat.
2105 (codified in relevant part as amended at 8 U.S.C. § 1601 et seq.), as
including “any federal public benefit for which the eligibility . . . for
benefits, or the amount of such benefits, or both, are determined on the
basis of income, resources, or financial need,” Interpretation of “Federal
Means-Tested Public Benefit” in the Personal Responsibility and Work
Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, 49 Op. O.L.C. __, at *8 (Dec. 16,
2025) (“Means-Tested Benefits”).
That broad definition would, on its face, appear to encompass federal
housing assistance that the Department of Housing and Urban Develop-
ment (“HUD”) administers under section 214 of the Housing and Commu-
nity Development Act of 1980 (“section 214”), Pub. L. No. 96-399, § 214,
94 Stat. 1614, 1637 (codified in relevant part as amended at 42 U.S.C.
§ 1436a). But there has long been “uncertainty surrounding how the eligi-
bility requirements of PRWORA and Section 214 interact, leading to
conflicting interpretations of the categories of noncitizens eligible for
certain housing programs.” Maggie McCarty & Alison Siskin, Cong. Rsch.
Serv., RL31753, Immigration: Noncitizen Eligibility for Needs-Based
Housing Programs at 1 (updated Dec. 8, 2015), https://www.congress.gov/
crs-product/RL31753 [https://perma.cc/UEA8-Q58Y]. For that reason,

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50 Op. O.L.C. __ (Feb. 18, 2026)

HUD has asked this Office how the alien eligibility and verification re-
quirements for Federal means-tested public benefits under PRWORA
interact with the overlapping but distinct requirements under section 214.
We read PRWORA and section 214 as imposing complementary but
distinct requirements, both of which must be satisfied to obtain federal
housing benefits. Although there are some distinctions, none create an
irreconcilable conflict such that compliance with both statutes is impossi-
ble. Accordingly, only aliens who are both “qualified” under PRWORA
and eligible under section 214 may obtain federal housing benefits admin-
istered under section 214. After providing the relevant statutory back-
ground, this opinion confirms that section 214 housing programs are
“Federal means-tested public benefits” under PRWORA and explains how
PRWORA and section 214 may be read in harmony, both as to their
eligibility categories and conditions and their verification procedures.

I.

A.

Congress enacted the Housing and Community Development Act of
1980 to address urban decay, stimulate housing construction, and support
local community development. In section 214 of the Act, Congress “es-
tablished the first federal restrictions on noncitizen eligibility for federal
housing” benefits. Maggie McCarty & Abigail F. Kolker, Cong. Rsch.
Serv., R46462, Noncitizen Eligibility for Federal Housing Programs at 4
(updated Jan. 23, 2023), https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R46462
[https://perma.cc/2EXP-ZRZR] (“CRS, Federal Housing Programs”).
Section 214 covers several major housing assistance programs that “pro-
vide direct rental or homeownership assistance to low-income families,”
including public housing, Housing Choice Vouchers, and Section 8 pro-
ject-based housing. Id.
Under section 214(a) and “[n]otwithstanding any other provision of
law,” the Secretary “may not make financial assistance available for the
benefit of any alien unless that alien is a resident of the United States”
and falls within one of seven enumerated categories based on immigra-
tion status. 42 U.S.C. § 1436a(a). These include aliens lawfully admitted
for permanent residence, see id. § 1436a(a)(1); aliens deemed lawfully
admitted for permanent residence under 8 U.S.C. § 1259, see 42 U.S.C.

2
Harmonizing PRWORA and Section 214

§ 1436a(a)(2); refugees and asylees, see id. § 1436a(a)(3); humanitarian
parolees, see id. § 1436a(a)(4); aliens granted withholding of removal,
see id. § 1436a(a)(5); aliens with adjusted status for temporary or perma-
nent residence under 8 U.S.C. § 1255a, see 42 U.S.C. § 1436a(a)(6); and
aliens from Freely Associated States, see id. § 1436a(a)(7). 1
Section 214 as originally enacted did not have verification provisions.
But Congress added these requirements in later statutes, including some
postdating PRWORA. See Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant
Responsibility Act of 1996 (“IIRIRA”), Pub. L. No. 104-208, div. C,
§§ 574–76, 110 Stat. 3009-546, 3009-685–88 (codified as amended
at 42 U.S.C. § 1436a(d)–(e), (i)); Pub. L. No. 105-276, § 592, 112 Stat.
2461, 2653 (1998).

B.

In 1996, a bipartisan Congress enacted PRWORA as comprehensive
welfare reform legislation. “Before PRWORA, the authorizing statute for
each federal benefit program generally established its immigration-related
eligibility criteria or lack thereof.” Ben Harrington, Cong. Rsch. Serv.,
R46510, PRWORA’s Restrictions on Noncitizen Eligibility for Federal
Public Benefits: Legal Issues at 1 (Sept. 3, 2020) (“CRS, Legal Issues”),
https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R46510 [https://perma.cc/V5HP-
XG9D]. Thus, “[a] major purpose of PRWORA was to establish a set of
restrictive, uniform rules that would apply across a broad spectrum of
federal benefit programs.” Id. at 2.
Title IV of PRWORA addresses aliens’ access to federal, state, and lo-
cal public benefits, with the express aim of reducing welfare incentives
fueling migration to the United States. See 8 U.S.C. §§ 1601–1646. De-
spite the national policy that “aliens within the Nation’s borders not
depend on public resources,” Congress concluded that aliens were “apply-
ing for and receiving public benefits” at “increasing rates.” Id.
§ 1601(2)(A), (3). Congress identified the “[c]urrent eligibility rules for
public assistance” as “wholly incapable of assuring that individual aliens

1 Of these categories, only the one for resident aliens from Freely Associated States

was added after PRWORA’s enactment. See Pub. L. No. 106-504, § 3(b), 114 Stat. 2309,
2312–13 (2000) (codified at 42 U.S.C. § 1436a(a)(7)).

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50 Op. O.L.C. __ (Feb. 18, 2026)

not burden the public benefits system” and “enact[ed] new rules for eligi-
bility . . . to assure that aliens be self-reliant.” Id. § 1601(4)–(5).
Under title IV, only “qualified alien[s],” id. § 1641(b), are eligible for
most federal, state, and local public benefits “[n]otwithstanding any other
provision of law,” see id. §§ 1611(a), 1612(a), 1621(a). PRWORA defines
“Federal public benefit” to include “any . . . assisted housing” or “similar
benefit for which payments or assistance are provided” through federal
funds. Id. § 1611(c)(1). Aliens who do not satisfy the definition of “quali-
fied alien” are ineligible for public benefits unless an exception applies.
And importantly, “[q]ualified aliens are not automatically eligible for
federal benefit programs; they are still subject to all eligibility and availa-
bility restrictions of the program.” CRS, Federal Housing Programs at 6.
Section 1641(b) lists categories of aliens, based largely on immigration
status, who are “qualified alien[s].” Currently, these categories include
lawful permanent residents, see 8 U.S.C. § 1641(b)(1); asylees, see id.
§ 1641(b)(2); refugees, see id. § 1641(b)(3), (b)(6); 2 humanitarian parol-
ees, see id. § 1641(b)(4); aliens granted withholding of removal, see id.
§ 1641(b)(5); Cuban and Haitian entrants, see id. § 1641(b)(7); 3 resident
aliens from Freely Associated States, see id. § 1641(b)(8); 4 and battered

2 Congress has extended qualification to some other categories of aliens to the same

extent as refugees under PRWORA. These include certain victims of trafficking, see
Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000, Pub. L. No. 106-386,
§ 107(b)(1)(A), 114 Stat. 1464, 1475 (codified as amended at 22 U.S.C. § 7105(b)(1)(A));
certain Afghan parolees, see Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency
Assistance Act, Pub. L. No. 117-43, § 2502, 135 Stat. 344, 377 (2021) (codified as
amended at 8 U.S.C. § 1101 note); and certain Ukrainian parolees, see Additional Ukraine
Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2022, Pub. L. No. 117-128, § 401, 136 Stat. 1211,
1218 (codified as amended at 8 U.S.C. § 1101 note).
3 The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 amended PRWORA to include Cuban and Haitian

entrants. See Pub. L. No. 105-33, § 5302(c), 111 Stat. 251, 599–600 (codified at 8 U.S.C.
§§ 1613(b)(1)(D), 1622(b)(1)(D), 1641(b)(7)).
4 Congress amended PRWORA to add this category in 2020. See Consolidated Appro-

priations Act, 2021 (“2021 CAA”), Pub. L. No. 116-260, § 208(c), 134 Stat. 1182, 2985
(2020) (codified as amended at 8 U.S.C. § 1641(b)(8)). Prior to this change, this Office
had left unresolved whether non-resident aliens under the Compacts of Free Association
were “‘qualified aliens’ as defined by 8 U.S.C. § 1641(b).” See Effect of the Alienage
Restriction in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of
1996 on the Provision of Stafford Act Assistance in the Federated States of Micronesia
and the Republic of the Marshall Islands, 25 Op. O.L.C. 21, 23 n.2 (2001). Congress’s

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Harmonizing PRWORA and Section 214

spouses or children of U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents under
the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (“VAWA self-petitioners”), see
id. § 1641(c). 5
Title IV further conditions qualified aliens’ eligibility for public bene-
fits. With some exceptions, qualified aliens generally must wait five years
after entering the United States with qualified status before they may
obtain any Federal means-tested public benefit. Id. § 1613(a). Title IV
also attributes the income and resources of an alien’s sponsor and the
alien’s spouse to the alien for purposes of calculating the alien applicant’s
financial status. Id. § 1631(a). And aside from PRWORA’s narrow excep-
tions, title IV’s eligibility limits apply “[n]otwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law.” Id. §§ 1611(a), 1613(a), 1621(a), 1631(a).
To enforce these safeguards, title IV of PRWORA requires the Attor-
ney General to promulgate regulations “requiring verification that a
person applying for a Federal public benefit . . . is a qualified alien and is
eligible to receive such benefit.” Id. § 1642(a)(1). States administering
federal public benefits must implement verification systems pursuant to
federal regulations. Id. § 1642(a)(3), (b).

C.

A cloud of “doubt has persisted over the relationship between
PRWORA and the slightly divergent eligibility criteria in Section 214.”
CRS, Legal Issues at 11. Unlike PRWORA, section 214 does not include
VAWA self-petitioners or Cuban and Haitian entrants in its list of eligi-
ble aliens. See 42 U.S.C. § 1436a(a); CRS, Federal Housing Programs at
7. Over the years, however, HUD has treated these categories of aliens as
eligible for section 214 benefits. See Memorandum for Julián Castro,

targeted extension of PRWORA to treat as “qualified alien[s]” those who “lawfully
reside[] in the United States in accordance with a Compact of Free Association,” 2021
CAA § 208(c), 134 Stat. at 2985, indicates that non-resident aliens under such Compacts
are not “qualified,” cf. Esteras v. United States, 145 S. Ct. 2031, 2040 (2025) (applying
the “well-established canon of statutory interpretation: expressio unius est exclusio
alterius—in plain English, expressing one item of an associated group or series excludes
another left unmentioned” (cleaned up)).
5 Congress amended PRWORA one month after its enactment to include VAWA self-

petitioners. See IIRIRA § 501, 110 Stat. at 3009-670 (codified as amended at 8 U.S.C.
§1641(c)).

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50 Op. O.L.C. __ (Feb. 18, 2026)

Secretary, HUD, from Tonya Robinson, Acting General Counsel, HUD,
Re: Eligibility of Battered Noncitizen Self-Petitioners for Financial
Assistance under Section 214 of the Housing and Community Develop-
ment Act of 1980 at 2 (Dec. 15, 2016) (“2016 HUD Memo”), https://
niwaplibrary.wcl.american.edu/wp-content/uploads/Eligibility-of-VAWA-
Self-Petitioners-2016-12-14.pdf [https://perma.cc/N52Q-XVNR] (in-
structing that VAWA self-petitioners are eligible for section 214 bene-
fits); HUD, HUD Handbook 4350.3: Occupancy Requirements of Subsi-
dized Multifamily Housing Programs ¶ 3-32 (updated Nov. 27, 2013),
https://www.hud.gov/sites/documents/43503hsgh.pdf [https://perma.cc/
AA47-FD5C] (treating “Cuban\Haitian entrant” as an eligible immigra-
tion status); CRS, Federal Housing Programs at 8 (observing that “ad-
ministratively, aliens who are qualified under PRWORA” are “being
treated as eligible under Section 214 programs”).
But while HUD has extended PRWORA’s broader eligibility categories
to section 214 programs, it has historically failed to impose any of
PRWORA’s restrictive conditions on those programs. Relying on a 1997
opinion from this Office, see Proposed Agency Interpretation of “Federal
Means-Tested Public Benefit[s]” Under Personal Responsibility and Work
Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, 21 Op. O.L.C. 21, 21–22 (1997),
HUD concluded that none of its programs were “Federal means-tested
public benefits,” see Eligibility Restrictions on Noncitizens: Inapplicability
of Welfare Reform Act Restrictions on Federal Means-Tested Public
Benefits, 65 Fed. Reg. 49,994, 49,994 (Aug. 16, 2000). In November 2025,
however, HUD reversed its finding and issued a notice that “interpret[ed]
PRWORA to apply to all HUD programs related to public or assisted
housing” programs “unless a more specific federal statute applies, e.g.
Section 214 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980, as
amended.” Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation
Act of 1996 (PRWORA); Interpretation of “Federal Public Benefit”,
90 Fed. Reg. 54,363, 54,364 (Nov. 26, 2025) (“2025 HUD Notice”).
In December 2025, in response to a request by the Department of
Health and Human Services (“HHS”), this Office published an opinion
interpreting “Federal means-tested public benefit” in PRWORA. See
generally Means-Tested Benefits. We withdrew our 1997 interpretation of
that phrase, which had applied Chevron deference to HHS’s and HUD’s
then-existing view. See id. at *7. We then opined that “Federal means-

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Harmonizing PRWORA and Section 214

tested public benefit” is best read as including “any federal public benefit
for which the eligibility . . . for benefits, or the amount of such benefits,
or both, are determined on the basis of income, resources, or financial
need,” regardless of whether the federal funding is from a mandatory or
discretionary spending program. Id. at *8.
HUD has now asked this Office for an opinion explaining the relation-
ship between PRWORA and section 214. HUD has asked whether
PRWORA applies to section 214 programs at all, and has noted that a
federal regulation permits agencies to determine whether the welfare
programs they administer constitute Federal means-tested public benefits.
See 8 C.F.R. § 213a.1.

II.

We construe federal laws harmoniously to effectuate Congress’s enact-
ments to the extent possible, particularly when statutes address the same
subject. See, e.g., PLIVA, Inc. v. Mensing, 564 U.S. 604, 622–23 (2011)
(plurality opinion); Access of Department of Justice Inspector General to
Certain Information Protected from Disclosure by Statute, 39 Op. O.L.C.
12, 20 (2015). We are “not at liberty to pick and choose among congres-
sional enactments,” Morton v. Mancari, 417 U.S. 535, 551 (1974), and
“deeming two statutes to conflict is a disfavored construction,” Howard v.
Pritzker, 775 F.3d 430, 437 (D.C. Cir. 2015) (internal quotation marks
omitted). Even when statutory provisions are in tension, we will not read
one statute as superseding the other unless the conflict is irreconcilable.
See Radzanower v. Touche Ross & Co., 426 U.S. 148, 155 (1976).
PRWORA and section 214 are compatible. PRWORA comprehensively
governs eligibility for and administration of Federal public benefits,
including those that are means-tested. Section 214 programs are “Federal
means-tested public benefits” under PRWORA. Read together, PRWORA
imposes additional conditions on federal benefits under section 214, not
alternative conditions. The statutory requirements are additive, not con-
flicting, because it is possible to fulfill the requirements of both statutes.
We first explain why section 214 programs are “Federal means-tested
public benefits” subject to PRWORA. We then address the two statutes’
eligibility categories and conditions before finally considering their veri-
fication procedures.

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50 Op. O.L.C. __ (Feb. 18, 2026)

A.

HUD programs administered under section 214 are “Federal means-
tested public benefits” within the meaning of PRWORA. A “Federal
public benefit” under PRWORA is broadly defined to include, among
other things, “any retirement, welfare, health, disability, public or assisted
housing, postsecondary education, food assistance, unemployment bene-
fit, or any other similar benefit for which payments or assistance are
provided to an individual, household, or family eligibility unit by an
agency of the United States or by appropriated funds of the United
States.” 8 U.S.C. § 1611(c)(1)(B) (emphasis added). And as we have
explained, a “Federal means-tested public benefit” is “any federal public
benefit for which the eligibility of an individual, household, or family
eligibility unit for benefits, or the amount of such benefits, or both, are
determined on the basis of the income, resources, or financial need of the
individual, household, or unit.” Means-Tested Benefits at *8.
Each of the housing and rental assistance programs that HUD adminis-
ters under section 214 satisfies these definitions. Eligibility in the pro-
grams turns on income, the assistance amount is calculated using income,
and in some cases, the agencies require periodic income reexaminations
and impose net-asset restrictions on applicants for assistance.
Programs created by the Housing Act of 1937 are means-tested. For
example, “[d]welling units assisted” under the federal public-housing
program may be “rented only to families who are low-income families at
the time of their initial occupancy of such units.” 42 U.S.C. § 1437a(a)(1).
“[L]ow-income families” is defined to mean “families whose incomes do
not exceed 80 per centum of the median income for the area.” Id.
§ 1437a(b)(2)(A). And the program uses an income-based rent-calculation
formula. Id. § 1437a(a)(1). HUD regulations also confirm that public
housing applicants “must be income-eligible . . . and must meet the net
asset and property ownership restriction requirements.” 24 C.F.R.
§ 960.201(a)(1). “No family other than a low income family is eligible for
admission to a [Public Housing Agency’s] public housing program.” Id.
§ 960.201(a)(2).
So too with Section 8 project-based housing programs: “[A]ssistance
payments may be made only with respect to a dwelling unit under lease
for occupancy by a family determined to be a lower income family at the

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Harmonizing PRWORA and Section 214

time it initially occupied such dwelling unit.” 42 U.S.C. § 1437f(c)(4).
While all Section 8 project-based units must be rented to low-income
families, a percentage of dwelling units are reserved for “extremely low-
income families,” which is defined as those families whose incomes do not
exceed the higher of either the poverty guidelines or “30 percent of the
median family income for the area.” Id. § 1437a(b)(2)(C). The Housing
Choice Vouchers program is similarly means-tested. See id. § 1437f(o)(4);
see also 24 C.F.R. § 982.201(a). And eligibility for the voucher program is
subject to ongoing income review. See 42 U.S.C. § 1437f(o)(5)(A).
Other programs administered under section 214 are also means-tested.
Eligibility and tenant rent for the direct-loan program for the elderly and
disabled is keyed to income. See 12 U.S.C. § 1701q(c), (d)(1). Assis-
tance related to section 235 of the National Housing Act is limited by
family income and is adjusted periodically based on recipient income
recertifications. See id. § 1715z(a)(2)(B)(i), (f), (h)(2). So too tenant
eligibility and rental assistance under section 236 of that Act. See id.
§ 1715z-1(f)(1)(B)(i), (f)(2), (i)(2). And finally, both eligibility and the
amount of assistance under section 101 of the Housing and Urban Devel-
opment Act of 1965 is keyed to income. See id. § 1701s(c)–(d), (e)(2).
HUD does not dispute that PRWORA facially applies “to all HUD pro-
grams related to public or assisted housing,” and that programs adminis-
tered under section 214 would ordinarily qualify as “Federal public bene-
fit[s]” under PRWORA. See 2025 HUD Notice, 90 Fed. Reg. at 54,364.
And 8 C.F.R. § 213a.1 comports with this understanding. That regulation
permits federal agencies to identify welfare programs that are “Federal
means-tested public benefits” under PRWORA. Id. But agencies cannot
override the statute—they must still adhere to the best reading of
PRWORA’s statutory term when making their determinations. Opinions
from this Office interpreting federal law—including our recent opinion
interpreting “Federal means-tested public benefit” in PRWORA—are
“controlling, authoritative and binding within the Executive Branch, unless
overruled or withdrawn.” Means-Tested Benefits at *6 n.2 (cleaned up)
(quoting Campaign for Accountability v. U.S. Dep’t of Just., 155 F.4th
724, 731 (D.C. Cir. 2025)). Federal law does not enable HUD to exempt
section 214 programs from PRWORA’s ambit through regulatory action.

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50 Op. O.L.C. __ (Feb. 18, 2026)

B.

PRWORA and section 214 impose two types of qualifications: (1) eli-
gible categories of aliens and (2) eligibility conditions placed on aliens.
Under both PRWORA and section 214, an alien must first fall within an
eligible category to qualify for Federal public benefits, generally based on
his immigration status. If an alien satisfies this threshold requirement,
then he must meet other eligibility conditions, such as financial need and
minimum residency. The following table summarizes the relationship
between the two statutes, which we explain in greater detail below:

PRWORA Qualified Section 214 Eligible Both Qualified and Eligible
Lawful permanent Qualified. See Eligible. See Yes, after five-year bar.
residents 8 U.S.C. 42 U.S.C. See 8 U.S.C. § 1613(a).
§ 1641(b)(1). § 1436a(a)(1), (2),
(6).
Asylees Qualified. See Eligible. See Yes. See 8 U.S.C.
8 U.S.C. 42 U.S.C. § 1613(b)(1)(B).
§ 1641(b)(2). § 1436a(a)(3).
Refugees Qualified. See Eligible. See Yes. See 8 U.S.C.
8 U.S.C. 42 U.S.C. § 1613(b)(1)(A).
§ 1641(b)(3), (b)(6). § 1436a(a)(3).
Parolees Qualified, if paroled Eligible. See Yes, if paroled for at least
for at least one year. 42 U.S.C. one year and after five-year
See 8 U.S.C. § 1436a(a)(4). bar. See 8 U.S.C.
§ 1641(b)(4). § 1613(a).
Aliens granted Qualified. See Eligible. See Yes. See 8 U.S.C.
withholding of 8 U.S.C. 42 U.S.C. § 1613(b)(1)(C).
removal § 1641(b)(5). § 1436a(a)(5).
Cuban/Haitian Qualified. See Not eligible. No.
entrants 8 U.S.C.
§ 1641(b)(7).
Resident aliens Qualified. See Eligible. See Yes. See 8 U.S.C.
from Freely 8 U.S.C. 42 U.S.C. § 1613(b)(3).
Associated States § 1641(b)(8). § 1436a(a)(7).
VAWA self- Qualified. See Not eligible. No.
petitioners 8 U.S.C. § 1641(c).
Grandfathered Qualified. See Not eligible. No.
aliens receiving 8 U.S.C. § 1613(a).
pre-PRWORA
benefits

10
Harmonizing PRWORA and Section 214

1.

The two statutory lists of alien categories overlap except for three
groups included under only PRWORA—VAWA self-petitioners, Cuban
and Haitian entrants, and otherwise ineligible aliens who were receiving
benefits as of August 22, 1996, the date of PRWORA’s enactment (i.e.,
grandfathered aliens receiving pre-PRWORA benefits). Compare
8 U.S.C. § 1641(b)–(c), with 42 U.S.C. § 1436a(a). PRWORA’s catego-
ries of “qualified aliens” is therefore broader than section 214’s categories
of eligible aliens. Although PRWORA and section 214 both apply to the
same Federal public benefits (housing assistance), whatever differences
exist between covered categories of aliens do not create an irreconcilable
conflict because both statutes operate to limit eligibility.
Section 214 provides that, “[n]otwithstanding any other provision of
law,” if an alien does not fall within one of its eligibility categories, then
the Secretary “may not make financial assistance available” to them.
42 U.S.C. § 1436a(a) (emphasis added). PRWORA is equally clear:
“Notwithstanding any other provision of law,” an alien “who is not a
qualified alien” is “not eligible for any Federal public benefit.” 8 U.S.C.
§ 1611(a) (emphasis added). In other words, both section 214 and
PRWORA restrict who may receive federal benefits. PRWORA’s “not-
withstanding” clause indicates that it overrides any contrary legal provi-
sions. See Cisneros v. Alpine Ridge Grp., 508 U.S. 10, 18 (1993) (“[T]he
use of such a ‘notwithstanding’ clause clearly signals the drafter’s inten-
tion that the provisions of the ‘notwithstanding’ section override conflict-
ing provisions of any other section.”); Andreiu v. Ashcroft, 253 F.3d 477,
482 (9th Cir. 2001) (“[A] notwithstanding any other provision of law”
clause “trumps any contrary provision elsewhere in the law.” (alteration
accepted)). But section 214 is not contrary to PRWORA. PRWORA acts
as a ceiling on alien eligibility unless Congress subsequently specifies
otherwise; it is not also a floor requiring that all “qualified aliens” under
PRWORA may receive federal benefits. 6

6 “There is no question that PRWORA does not apply in instances where Congress

overrides it expressly in a later statute.” CRS, Legal Issues at 18; see also Children’s
Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009, Pub. L. No. 111-3, § 214(a)(2),
123 Stat. 8, 56 (codified at 42 U.S.C. § 1396b(v)(4)(A)) (allowing States to provide
certain medical assistance “notwithstanding sections 401(a), 402(b), 403, and 421 of

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50 Op. O.L.C. __ (Feb. 18, 2026)

PRWORA and section 214 are best read as two distinct but interlocking
sets of requirements for federal housing benefits, both of which must be
satisfied for an alien to receive benefits. “Although there is considerable
overlap and some disparity between the two provisions . . . , compliance
with either of the statutes does not appear to render compliance with the
other impossible or compel disobedience to it.” Gulf War Veterans Health
Statutes, 23 Op. O.L.C. 49, 56 (1999). In a similar context, we opined that
two statutes with different deadlines for the same reporting requirement
did not irreconcilably conflict because the government could comply with
both statutes by following the more restrictive deadline. Id. at 58. The
same logic applies here. HUD can satisfy both PRWORA and section 214
by adhering to the more restrictive list of eligible aliens in section 214
without violating any command in PRWORA.
Because whatever tension may exist between the categories in
PRWORA and those in section 214(a) does not amount to an irreconcila-
ble conflict, we do not read PRWORA as impliedly repealing or amending
section 214. “[W]hen two statutes are capable of coexistence, it is the
duty of” interpreters “to regard each as effective.” J.E.M. Ag Supply, Inc.
v. Pioneer Hi-Bred Int’l, Inc., 534 U.S. 124, 143–44 (2001). We infer an

[PRWORA]”). Whether Congress has implicitly superseded PRWORA in a later-enacted
statute is a more difficult and context-dependent question, and courts have divided in
various cases. Compare Oakley v. Devos, No. 4:20-CV-03215, 2020 WL 3268661, at
*15–16 (N.D. Cal. June 17, 2020) (holding that PRWORA likely does not restrict emer-
gency financial aid under the CARES Act), and Noerand v. Devos, 474 F. Supp. 3d 394,
403 (D. Mass. 2020) (same), with Washington v. DeVos, No. 2:20-CV-00182, 2020 WL
4275041, at *6 (E.D. Wash. July 24, 2020) (holding that PRWORA restricts eligibility for
CARES Act aid), and Poder in Action v. City of Phoenix, 481 F. Supp. 3d 962, 971–72
(D. Ariz. 2020) (same); see also New York v. U.S. Dep’t of Just., 804 F. Supp. 3d 294,
325 (D.R.I. 2025) (holding that the Health Center Program statute likely superseded
PRWORA under the general-specific canon and as a later enactment), appeal filed,
No. 25-2099 (1st Cir. Nov. 10, 2025).
Here, Congress may have superseded PRWORA when it amended section 214 in 2000
to make resident aliens from Freely Associated States eligible. See Pub. L. No. 106-504,
§ 3(b), 114 Stat. at 2312–13. If it were otherwise, the amendment would have had no
effect. PRWORA’s “notwithstanding” clause would not necessarily control this later-
enacted and more-specific provision, but neither would Congress’s 2000 amendment
revive section 214(a)’s “notwithstanding” clause to supersede PRWORA except as to
subsection (a)(7), the amended provision. We need not reach that question, however,
because Congress ultimately extended PRWORA “qualified alien” status to resident
aliens from Freely Associated States in 2020. See 2021 CAA § 208(c), 134 Stat. at 2985.

12
Harmonizing PRWORA and Section 214

implied amendment or repeal “only if necessary to make the later enacted
law work, and even then only to the minimum extent necessary.”
Radzanower, 426 U.S. at 155 (cleaned up). That high bar is not met here.
Because there is no real conflict between PRWORA and section 214’s
eligibility categories, we need not resort to the general-specific canon.
That canon is “most frequently applied to statutes in which a general
permission or prohibition is contradicted by a specific prohibition or
permission. To eliminate the contradiction, the specific provision is con-
strued as an exception to the general one.” RadLAX Gateway Hotel, LLC
v. Amalgamated Bank, 566 U.S. 639, 645 (2012). It is most useful where—
unlike here—the two provisions are “interrelated and closely positioned,
both in fact being parts of the same statutory scheme.” Id. (cleaned up)
(quoting HCSC-Laundry v. United States, 450 U.S. 1, 6 (1981) (per curi-
am)). But interpreters resort to the general-specific canon only when
statutory “overlap . . . create[s] an irreconcilable conflict.” Kemp v. Unit-
ed States, 142 S. Ct. 1856, 1863–64 (2022); see also Nat’l Cable & Tele-
comms. Ass’n, Inc. v. Gulf Power Co., 534 U.S. 327, 335–36 (2002) (“It is
true that specific statutory language should control more general language
when there is a conflict between the two. Here, however, there is no
conflict.”).
Although section 214 is more specifically tailored to the programs ad-
ministered under that section, it does not irreconcilably conflict with the
categories of PRWORA “qualified aliens.” And both provisions can be
harmonized without creating the “superfluity” that might arise if the
“specific provision” (section 214) were “swallowed by the general one”
(PRWORA). RadLAX, 566 U.S. at 645. After all, section 214(a) limits the
eligible categories of aliens more narrowly than PRWORA in several
respects. Unfortunately, however, HUD has in practice extended federal
housing benefits to categories of aliens who are ineligible under the
interlocking statutory requirements. 7

7 In 2016, HUD interpreted section 214 to impliedly cover VAWA self-petitioners,

“consistent with Section 214 and VAWA’s objectives to enhance victim safety.” 2016
HUD Memo at 2. HUD noted that section 214 makes lawful permanent residents eligible
for housing assistance and that VAWA self-petitioners are statutorily authorized to apply
for lawful permanent residence. Id. at 1. HUD reasoned that because section 214 assis-
tance “cannot be delayed, denied, reduced or terminated on the basis of immigration
status while verification of eligibility or appeal of a determination as to satisfactory

13
50 Op. O.L.C. __ (Feb. 18, 2026)

2.

PRWORA adds eligibility conditions not included in section 214—for
example, the five-year waiting period for most qualified aliens to receive
Federal means-tested benefits and the requirement that the finances of an
alien’s sponsor and those of an alien’s spouse be included in calculating
the alien applicant’s finances. See 8 U.S.C. §§ 1613(a), 1631(a). 8
Just as with eligible categories of aliens, PRWORA’s additional eligi-
bility conditions are compatible with section 214. Section 214 provides
that seven categories of aliens may be eligible for housing assistance
benefits. Applying PRWORA’s eligibility conditions does not alter sec-
tion 214’s list of eligible classes; it simply adds requirements. Those same
categories of aliens may receive section 214 benefits if they satisfy
PRWORA’s eligibility conditions. In other words, PRWORA places
additional conditions on when or how aliens may receive benefits but does
not contradict section 214’s status-based (or categorical) limitations on
eligibility.
For example, “[n]otwithstanding any other provision of law,”
PRWORA requires that “the income and resources of the alien shall be

immigration status is pending,” VAWA self-petitioners are eligible for housing benefits
“until a final determination by DHS as to [lawful permanent residence] status is actually
made.” Id. at 1–2.
But section 214 does not support this reading for multiple reasons. First, VAWA self-
petitioners definitionally are not yet lawful permanent residents—they are authorized to
petition for such status. Indeed, PRWORA confirms that Congress views VAWA self-
petitioners as distinct from lawful permanent residents for welfare purposes. As originally
enacted, PRWORA covered lawful permanent residents as “qualified aliens.” Congress
then amended PRWORA to include VAWA self-petitioners as “qualified aliens”—an
addition that would be superfluous if “lawful permanent residents” included VAWA self-
petitioners. See IIRIRA § 501, 110 Stat. at 3009-670–71. Second, section 214(d)(4)—
which prohibits delay, denial, reduction, or termination of assistance pending status
verification—applies while administrators verify applicants’ status for benefits. It does
not cover aliens awaiting status determinations in immigration proceedings.
Although this result may be unfortunate as a policy matter, “[n]ot every harsh result
indicates a contradiction that must be ‘reconciled’ away.” Antonin Scalia & Bryan A.
Garner, Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts 181 (2012).
8 The PRWORA eligibility conditions listed here are merely examples. Our analysis

applies equally to all PRWORA eligibility conditions for aliens because section 214 only
limits eligible categories of aliens. Nothing in section 214 is rendered inoperative by
PRWORA’s additional eligibility conditions.

14
Harmonizing PRWORA and Section 214

deemed to include” that of the alien’s sponsor and spouse (if any).
8 U.S.C. § 1631(a). While most programs administered under section 214
already calculate an alien’s income to include the earnings of the alien’s
spouse, see, e.g., 42 U.S.C. § 1437a(b)(4), they do not explicitly consider
those of an alien’s sponsor, if applicable. PRWORA requires such attribu-
tion of income and thereby adds an additional condition on the calculation
of the alien’s income for purposes of program eligibility.
As before, there is no real statutory conflict between PRWORA and
section 214, so the general-specific canon does not come into play. See
Kemp, 142 S. Ct. at 1863–64; Gulf Power, 534 U.S. at 335–36. But even
if PRWORA’s eligibility conditions were construed as conflicting with
section 214, that canon would not apply here. True, when two statutes
irreconcilably conflict, the more specific statute typically governs the
general one, regardless of enactment priority. See Radzanower, 426 U.S.
at 153 (citing Mancari, 417 U.S. at 550–51). But even in the context of a
single statutory scheme, where the canon is most useful, “the gen-
eral/specific canon is not an absolute rule” and it “can be overcome by
textual indications that point in the other direction”—where the general
should control over the specific. RadLAX, 566 U.S. at 646–47. Such
textual indications are present here. First, Congress enacted a clear state-
ment of purpose to supersede pre-existing eligibility rules it deemed
ineffective and to create uniform and restrictive eligibility conditions for
Federal public benefits. See 8 U.S.C. § 1601(4)–(5). Second, Congress
repeatedly included clear statements that PRWORA’s restrictions apply
“[n]otwithstanding any other provision of law.” Id. § 1611(a); id.
§ 1613(a) (same); id. § 1631(a) (same).
“Notwithstanding” clauses, or non obstante clauses, have long been
used “to specify the degree to which a new statute was meant to repeal
older, potentially conflicting statutes in the same field.” PLIVA, 564 U.S.
at 621–22 (plurality opinion); see also Cisneros, 508 U.S. at 18 (“[A]
clearer statement” of congressional intent “to supersede all other laws” is
“difficult to imagine.”). This Office has frequently recognized non ob-
stante clauses as clear statements that a statute controls even against
more specific preexisting laws. See, e.g., Disposition of Proceeds from
the Sale of Government Buildings Acquired with Social Security Trust
Funds, 34 Op. O.L.C. 263, 269–73 (2010); Brady Act Implementation
Issues, 20 Op. O.L.C. 57, 62–63 (1996). Thus, even if there were a con-

15
50 Op. O.L.C. __ (Feb. 18, 2026)

flict and the general-specific canon applied, PRWORA’s eligibility
criteria—such as its five-year waiting period for most qualified aliens—
would still apply to federal housing benefits administered under sec-
tion 214. See United States v. DeCay, 620 F.3d 534, 540 (5th Cir. 2010)
(rejecting application of the general-specific canon because a “‘notwith-
standing any other Federal law’ clause signals a clear Congressional
intent to override conflicting federal law”). 9

C.

To ensure that only eligible recipients receive benefits, both PRWORA
and section 214 impose verification requirements on administrators of
Federal public benefits. The respective verification provisions differ
primarily in detail, but there is no irreconcilable conflict between them.
Recall that Congress’s concern in enacting PRWORA was to address
ineffective eligibility rules across a broad swathe of federal welfare
programs, not to craft verification requirements for specific programs.
See 8 U.S.C. § 1601(4)–(5). Commensurate with that focus, PRWORA
does not prescribe specific verification procedures. Instead, it instructs
the Attorney General to promulgate regulations “requiring verification”
of applicant eligibility, which shall, “to the extent feasible, require that
information requested and exchanged be similar in form and manner to
[the requirements of] section 1320b-7 of title 42,” which pertain to Social
Security benefits. Id. § 1642(a)(1). It also requires the Attorney General
to issue regulations establishing procedures for States to verify alien-
applicant eligibility and obligates States administering Federal public
benefits to implement a “verification system that complies with the
regulations.” Id. § 1642(a)–(b).
Section 214, by contrast, establishes a reticulated verification process
that requires sworn written declarations of satisfactory immigration
status, specific immigration documentation, and verification through the

9 One might argue that “income” as defined by the section 236 below-market rent pro-

gram precludes attribution of an alien sponsor’s income because it provides that “any
amounts not actually received by the family may not be considered as income under this
subsection.” 12 U.S.C. § 1715z-1(m). For the reasons explained above, however,
PRWORA would supersede to the extent of any conflict as the later-enacted provision
containing a non obstante clause, and thus an alien sponsor’s income must be deemed to
be part of the applicant’s income. See 8 U.S.C. § 1631(a).

16
Harmonizing PRWORA and Section 214

Department of Homeland Security. See 42 U.S.C. § 1436a(d)(1)–(3). It
also outlines an appeal process for verification determinations, id.
§ 1436a(d)(5), and limits the liability of entities and of state and local
governments that follow section 214 procedures when verifying eligibil-
ity, id. § 1436a(e)–(f). Notably, Congress strengthened and added to
section 214’s more-specific verification requirements just one month after
it enacted PRWORA. See IIRIRA §§ 574, 576, 110 Stat. at 3009-685–88.
Once again, there is no conflict between the statutory verification pro-
cedures: HUD can comply with both PRWORA and section 214. Indeed,
PRWORA’s generalized requirement to implement a verification system
is complemented by section 214’s specific procedures facilitating such
verification for housing assistance programs.
True, PRWORA mandates that the Attorney General promulgate regula-
tions creating verification procedures, and those regulations could poten-
tially conflict with section 214’s verification requirements. But this is both
factually unlikely and legally irrelevant. Section 214’s verification re-
quirements closely track the requirements for alien-eligibility verification
in 42 U.S.C. § 1320b-7—which Congress instructs the Attorney General to
follow “to the extent feasible,” see id. § 1642(a)(1), when promulgating
PRWORA’s implementing regulations. Compare id. § 1436a(d)–(f), (i)
(Section 214 verification), with id. § 1320b-7(d)–(e) (Social Security Act
verification). More importantly, federal regulations do not supersede
federal statutes. See In re Nautilus Motor Tanker Co., Ltd., 85 F.3d 105,
111 (3d Cir. 1996) (“[I]t is axiomatic that federal regulations can not
‘trump’ or repeal Acts of Congress.”).
The structure of PRWORA’s title IV further supports this reading. As
discussed above, its eligibility provisions contain clauses mandating that
these provisions control “[n]otwithstanding any other provision of law.”
8 U.S.C. §§ 1611(a), 1613(a), 1621(a). But there is no such clause in
PRWORA’s verification provision. See id. § 1642. Contrasted against
Congress’s repeated inclusion of non obstante clauses in other title IV
provisions—including neighboring provisions in the same subchapter, see
id. §§ 1644, 1646—the omission of similar language from the verification
provision is significant and suggests that Congress did not intend to
override more-specific verification procedures in other federal statutes.
After all, “we generally presume that Congress acts intentionally and
purposely when it includes particular language in one section of a statute

17
50 Op. O.L.C. __ (Feb. 18, 2026)

but omits it in another.” Intel Corp. Inv. Pol’y Comm. v. Sulyma, 140
S. Ct. 768, 777 (2020) (cleaned up).
To the extent that PRWORA’s verification provision could be read to
conflict with section 214’s verification requirements, section 214’s verifi-
cation requirements would control as both the later-enacted and more
specific statutory provisions. See Radzanower, 426 U.S. at 153. IIRIRA
bolstered section 214’s verification requirements shortly after PRWORA’s
enactment. Those IIRIRA amendments strengthened the verification pro-
cedures in section 214(d), see IIRIRA § 574, 110 Stat. at 3009-685–87,
and added subsection (i) to prohibit applicants for housing benefits from
obtaining “financial assistance prior to [an] affirmative establishment and
verification of eligibility,” id. § 576, 110 Stat. at 3009-687–88. That is a
strong indication that Congress made all verification requirements in
section 214 controlling to the extent they departed from PRWORA’s
requirements. Had the same Congress that enacted PRWORA understood
it to supersede section 214’s detailed verification scheme, it would never
have amended and expanded that same scheme one month later.

III.

PRWORA’s alien eligibility requirements apply to any “Federal means-
tested public benefit,” including federal housing assistance under section
214. Aliens seeking federal housing benefits, and the officials administer-
ing these benefits, must comply with both section 214 and PRWORA.
These provisions should be read as complementary rather than conflicting
because compliance with both laws is possible.
As a result, grandfathered aliens receiving pre-PRWORA benefits and
PRWORA “qualified aliens” under 8 U.S.C. § 1641(b)(7) and (c) are
ineligible to receive housing or rental assistance benefits under section
214 programs. Eligible categories of aliens must satisfy the five-year
waiting period to the same extent as required by PRWORA. See id.
§ 1613(a)–(b). And section 214’s detailed verification scheme remains
effective for all housing and rental assistance programs administered
under that section. See 42 U.S.C. § 1436a(d)–(f), (i).
Some ineligible aliens may have received section 214 housing benefits
based on a misinterpretation of the relationship between PRWORA and
section 214. But whatever reliance may have developed based on HUD’s

18
Harmonizing PRWORA and Section 214

past practice or this Office’s prior interpretation of PRWORA “cannot
overcome adherence to the plain statutory text.” Means-Tested Benefits at
*19. And “American taxpayers have interests, too, in ensuring that their
tax contributions” are not misused and “do not encourage illegal entry
into the United States.” Id. at *20. The statutory texts control and their
commands must be enforced as written.

T. ELLIOT GAISER
Assistant Attorney General
Office of Legal Counsel

19

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/11263093. Public record. Not legal advice.