The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Thursday said it proposed a new rule to block illegal immigrants, including members of “mixed-status households,” from living in HUD-funded housing and properties. HUD says this will reduce fraudulent activity.

“The days of illegal aliens, ineligibles, and fraudsters gaming the system and riding the coattails of American taxpayers are over,” HUD Secretary Scott Turner said in a statement. “HUD’s proposed rule will guarantee that all residents in HUD-funded housing are eligible tenants. We have zero tolerance for pushing aside hardworking U.S. citizens while enabling others to exploit decades-old loopholes.”

The proposed rule, to be published in the Federal Register, calls for limiting funding for those in public housing and other HUD-related housing to citizens and eligible non-U.S. citizens. The rule would require every resident in HUD-funded housing to show proof of citizenship or eligible status, including those 62 years and older who previously only had to show proof of age.

The proposed rule will be published in the Federal Register on Friday, which will trigger a 60-day public comment period.

One advocacy group, the National Housing Law Project, has said it opposes the HUD proposal, claiming it runs afoul of federal laws.

The administration is deflecting “blame for the housing crisis onto immigrants so they can continue dismantling HUD’s hallmark and lifesaving housing programs,” National Housing Law Project Director Shamus Roller said in a statement.

As a result of the rule, according to the advocacy group, more than 100,000 people would be evicted, including 37,000 children, some of whom would be U.S. citizens. The group did not provide an estimated breakdown of how many individuals evicted would be citizens, immigrants, or illegal immigrants.

“HUD also seeks to enlist housing authorities and owners into immigration enforcement and away from its core mission—providing affordable housing in the midst of a national housing crisis,” the group stated.

In December, the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimated that up to 20,000 families or as many as 80,000 people could lose assistance due to changes in eligibility arising from the proposed HUD rule.

However, HUD in its statement said the rule is designed to close loopholes that have long benefitted illegal immigrants and non-citizens who are not eligible for federal housing assistance. It further noted that only around a fourth of eligible households are being served by HUD and added that around 200,000 tenants in federally funded housing have “incomplete or unknown eligibility verification.”

Another estimated 24,000 illegal immigrants, people who are ineligible for HUD housing, and “fraudsters” in 20,000 mixed-status households are getting HUD benefits, according to the release.

Under the proposed rule, those “individuals will no longer be able to take advantage of taxpayer-funded benefits intended for American citizens or people with eligible status,” it said.

Federal public housing owned by HUD is administered by local public housing agencies, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. HUD’s website says that there are around 970,000 households in the United States living in public housing units, which are managed by around 3,300 local housing authorities.

Generally, public housing is limited to low-income families and individuals, calculated by annual gross income; whether they qualify as a person with a disability, are elderly, or are a family; and by U.S. citizenship or eligible immigration status, HUD also says.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.