California is set to launch a program that will provide $150,000 in mortgage “loans” to illegal immigrants.
The program is in response to complaints by immigrants who lack adequate housing. Some immigrants who have been in the country for at least 2 years still live in migrant shelters and motels.
The loan program, called California Dream for All, provides 20 percent in down payment assistance, up to $150,000.
The Dream For All program launched in 2023 and quickly ran out of funding. Roughly $300 million was gone in just 11 days, and more than 2,100 immigrants secured loans.
The proposal is likely to pass the California Legislature this week in a state that has the majority undocumented immigrants in the country.
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom declined to say whether he would sign the bill if it is passed by the Aug. 31 deadline.
Over 10 million migrants surged over the southern border during President Joe Biden’s administration.
Vice President Kamala Harris, in her DNC acceptance speech on Thursday, said the country can “live up to our proud heritage as a nation of immigrants.”
Harris is pushing a proposal to provide up to $25,000 in down payment assistance to first-time, first-generation homebuyers.
The Harris campaign declined to comment on the proposal. Harris continues to ignore mainstream media requests for interviews.
In California, Republican lawmakers have also pushed back. GOP Assemblymember Joe Patterson said at a committee hearing this summer that he “just can’t get behind using our limited dollars for people who are in this country undocumented.”
The bill’s author, Fresno Democrat Joaquin Arambula, countered that the bill specifies applicants must have a taxpayer identification number or social security number to apply for a loan, which means they’re taxpayers.
“It isn’t given out willy nilly to just anybody,” Democratic Assemblymember Eloise Gómez Reyes said at the June hearing.
