AB 1840 was first introduced by California Democrat Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula in mid-January and after several amendments, it advanced last week to the Committee on Housing and Community Development, where it awaits further action. Arambula last month told Fresno-based news outlet GV Wire that he "wanted to ensure that qualified first-time homebuyers include undocumented applicants." When the bill advanced to committee after amendments last week, he told the Los Angeles Times that, historically, homeownership has been the main way people accumulate generational wealth in the United States.
"The social and economic benefits of homeownership should be available to everyone," he said, arguing that it is wrong to exclude people from the benefits of the California Dream for All Fund program just because they're illegal immigrants. The program, administered by the state's Housing Finance Agency, provides loans for 20 percent of a home's value but no greater than $150,000. Qualifying homebuyers repay the loans when selling or transferring the property plus 20 percent of any appreciation in its value. Applicants who earn less than the county’s area median income get a slight break, having to pay 15 percent of the appreciation. If a home doesn't appreciate, only the principal will be paid back, meaning the loan is interest-free.
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The proposed bill will amend Section 51523 of the California Health and Safety Code to include a subsection that reads: "An applicant under the program shall not be disqualified solely based on the applicant’s immigration status."
As it nears becoming legislation, the said measure received flak from other lawmakers. "Assembly Bill 1840 is an insult to California citizens who are being left behind and priced out of homeownership. I'm all for helping first-time homebuyers, but give priority to those who are here in our state legally," Republican California Sen. Brian Dahle posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Meanwhile, Arambula argued in the interview last month that the program won’t affect the state budget because the loans are supposed to be paid back with an appreciation fee. But despite the net impact of the program on the state budget being technically neutral-to-positive, some critics are concerned that it sends the wrong message and effectively rewards illegal immigration.
"We have a huge housing crisis in California and anything we can do to get people into housing we should do. However, we should help our own first. This next generation of people growing up can’t afford a house. I've got two kids in their early 30s and most of their friends do not own houses," San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond told NBC 7 San Diego. "You incentivize illegal immigration by providing free healthcare, free unemployment benefits and tons of other freebies," he replied to a post by California Gov. Gavin Newsom's post. "It's no wonder we are getting thousands of people by the day. This is on you as much as the federal government."
Why illegals when CA has the largest homeless population?
Critics are also finding Arambula's justification ludicrous. He said: "The social and economic benefits of homeownership should be available to everyone." Parker Miller, a 2024 Washington Examiner winter fellow, blasted the lawmaker and raised the question: "Why are they not available to everyone?"
According to him, California needs to sort through the housing mess of its legal citizenry because the Golden State's homeless situation is abysmal. Despite containing 12 percent of the national population, California has the largest homeless population at a full 28 percent of the nation’s total and 51 percent of the unsheltered homeless population in the United States. The state government has not provided adequate housing for them, so they are more likely to acquire ailments or die prematurely, Miller pointed out.
"The homeless problem is partly caused by the absurd unaffordability of housing in the state. California has by far the highest housing prices in the United States. Its median house price is $843,340, more than double the national median of $394,300. Such awful prices have forced many residents to cohabitate to afford the collective rent and mortgage payments of their homes," he added. Some locals have been compelled to migrate out of the state and now, he argued, it is committing to prioritize foreign nationals over its own unhoused population. (Related: Large cities like Los Angeles and New York SUFFER as homelessness and illegal immigration crises collide.)
Head over to CaliforniaCollapse.news for more news related to the state's collapsing status due to poor leadership.
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