The California Senate Appropriations Committee advanced a bill that would allow illegal immigrants to participate in the state's zero down, no payment home loan program despite saying it would create "significant cost pressures," The Center Square reported Monday.
Assembly Bill 1840 would allow expansion of the state's "California Dream for All Program" by preventing the exclusion of individuals based on their immigration status. AB1840 has already passed in the Assembly and will go to a floor vote in the state Senate.
The appropriations committee teed up the bill despite its analysis that said expansion would create "unknown significant cost pressures, potentially in the millions annually, to provide additional funding for the Home Purchase Assistance Program to accommodate the expanded eligibility population," according to The Center Square.
Further, it's not clear that illegal migrants would ever have to pay back the loan. The "California Dream for All Program" states the loans can be repaid when the home is refinanced, sold or transferred. There are no provisions on how long a property can be held for, according to the report.
In 2024, 1,700 first generation homebuyers received vouchers offering up to 20% — each received up to $150,000 — of a home's value for down payments and closing costs assistance. The median home in California costs $1 million, according to The Center Square.
California ranks 49th in the country in housing units per resident, illegals notwithstanding.
"Assembly Bill 1840 is an insult to California citizens who are being left behind and priced out of homeownership," Republican state Sen. Brian Dahle said in a March statement. "I'm all for helping first-time homebuyers, but give priority to those who are here in our state legally."