Undocumented immigrants in California might soon be eligible for home loan assistance. The California Legislature passed a bill Wednesday that prohibits exclusion from loan programs based on immigration status.
Democratic State Assembly Member Joaquin Arambula sponsored the new bill, which opens programs up to undocumented immigrants.
“This is a bill about fairness,” he said. “Those that are paying into a system should be able to receive benefits from those same systems as everyone else does.”
Applicants would still need to meet the federal requirements to get a mortgage, which would mean that they pay taxes and meet credit requirements.
Fifteen Republicans voted against the bill. That includes Riverside Assembly member Bill Essayli, who says long-time Californians shouldn’t have to compete with undocumented immigrants for assistance.
“I'm glad you're doing this bill because it's going to show the people of this country – the people of this state – what the priorities of this legislature are,” he said.
The bill is now written to include all state down payment assistance programs, but initially only applied to the California Dream for All program.
That program debuted last year and all $300 million allocated to it were spoken for in 11 days.
The bill now heads to the Governor’s desk.
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