California Dems want to help undocumented immigrants buy homes – during presidential race

A first-in-the-nation California proposal could make undocumented immigrants eligible for up to $150,000 in state-supported home loans just as immigration has become an incendiary topic in the presidential election.

The measure is likely to pass the California Legislature this week where Democrats enjoy a supermajority and in a state that has the largest share of undocumented immigrants in the country.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, a top surrogate for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, declined to say whether he would sign the measure if it clears the statehouse by the Aug. 31 deadline. He would likely make a decision while Republican nominee Donald Trump criticizes Harris over the influx in migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border early on in Biden’s tenure and as Harris moves to the right on immigration.

Harris, in her DNC acceptance speech Thursday said the country can “live up to our proud heritage as a nation of immigrants, and reform our broken immigration system.” While the California proposal targets prospective homebuyers and not new migrants, it could nonetheless carry a political risk for Harris by providing fodder for Trump as he seizes on anything that could link his opponent to the border crisis.

Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt called the bill “fundamentally unfair but typical Democrat policy.” The Harris campaign declined to comment on the proposal.

In California, Republican lawmakers have also pushed back.

GOP Assemblymember Joe Patterson, who represents a largely suburban district north of Sacramento, 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 meet requirements set by the Federal National Mortgage Association, or Fannie Mae, including having 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.

The loan program, called California Dream for All , provides 20 percent in down payment assistance, up to $150,000. It is a shared appreciation loan in which the only interest the homebuyer pays would be 15 or 20 percent of the home’s increase in value upon selling the property, depending on their income level. The program has received state funding but is also run by the California Housing Finance Agency, which generates revenue through mortgage loans and not from taxpayers.

Arambula said he doesn’t want to conflate the larger immigration issue with his proposal. The bill has no registered opposition, but it may nonetheless be caught up in the political crossfire as the election nears. The proposal is a response to an existing federal law that prevents undocumented immigrants from participating in state benefits without a state law providing for eligibility.

“We simply wanted to be as inclusive as possible within our policies so that all who are paying taxes here in our state were able to qualify,” Arambula told POLITICO. “Without the intentional law that we are introducing, we felt that there were complexities and questions that many in the immigrant community would have.”

At the federal level, Harris herself is pushing a Biden administration proposal to provide up to $25,000 in down payment assistance to first-time, first-generation homeowners, though undocumented immigrants would not qualify under federal law.

Newsom has gone against immigrant advocates before, drawing their ire last year when he vetoed a bill prohibiting state prisons from sharing information about noncitizens with federal officials. He argued current law “strikes the right balance on limiting interaction to support community trust and cooperation between law enforcement and local communities.” Newsom’s veto followed an ACLU investigation alleging “anti-immigrant behavior” by the state prison system. Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo, who carried the bill, said that immigrants were being excluded from restorative justice reform policies.

The state’s independent housing finance agency has signaled its support for Arambula’s bill, reaching out to the lawmaker to request that the proposal — which originally only gave undocumented immigrants access to Dream for All — be expanded to all programs run by the department. These would also include loan programs in which the state works with private lenders and prospective homebuyers.

“I see it as a good sign, and it's encouraging,” Arambula said.

The outreach came after state Sen. Anna Caballero, a fellow Fresno Democrat, said during a July committee hearing that the state should specifically include undocumented immigrants in other programs because “it’s the right thing to do.”

Chris Saur, a spokesperson for the California Housing Finance Agency, declined to comment on the measure but said in a statement that “CalHFA is committed to our mission of helping low- and moderate-income Californians find a place to call home.” Saur added that the agency provided loans to 1,700 first-generation homebuyers in June through Dream For All, which was the bill’s narrow focus at first.

Participants must be first-time homebuyers, and at least one borrower must be a first-generation homebuyer. Their income level must be below specific income limits depending on the county , which ranges from between $100,000 and $300,000.

Advocates say that without an explicit understanding that they are eligible for certain government programs, undocumented immigrants often assume they don’t qualify and therefore do not apply. That can have a tremendous impact, considering the high cost of housing in California where being able to make a down payment often makes the difference in transitioning from renting to owning a home.

“There are a lot of folks that have lived in California for many, many years,” said Cynthia Gomez, deputy director of state policy and advocacy for the Coalition of Humane Immigrant Rights, which is sponsoring the bill. “They have deep roots in California and want to see themselves as a homebuyer. We've made a lot of progress as a state to make sure that that's a reality for the Californians who want to own a home here, and that should also be inclusive of undocumented folks.”

The Dream For All program launched in 2023 and quickly ran out of funding. Roughly $300 million was exhausted in just 11 days , and more than 2,100 homebuyers secured loans. After concerns from the first round that the funding was not being distributed equally, Arambula said that he hopes his proposal will help the program better reflect the diversity of the state.

“If we could pass a law that allowed us to be more intentional and inclusive, we have a greater chance to make sure that resources are being spread to all who can benefit from them,” Arambula said.

Katy O'Donnell contributed to this report.