‘The gravy train is over.’
The Trump administration is running – not walking – back the policies of Joe Biden and his Democratic Party, especially when it comes to illegal immigrants and how the country has been spending (wasting?) money. Now the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has stepped up to make it much more difficult, if not impossible, for the undocumented to live in government-funded housing or buy homes.
Federally Funded Housing
“We have a homelessness and we have a housing affordability crisis,” HUD Secretary Scott Turner told Fox News in an exclusive interview. “During the Biden administration, there were very harmful, irresponsible border security and immigration policies. They prioritized illegal aliens over American citizens.”
Under the previous commander-in-chief, illegal immigrants were able to get assistance with low-income housing and even qualify for FHA mortgages. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Housing Jeffrey Little wrote a letter to mortgagees saying that non-permanent residents are subject to immigration laws that can affect how long they can stay in the country. That uncertainty can pose a challenge since FHA has to be able to fulfill long-term financial obligations dependent on a homeowner’s ability to have stable residency and employment.
He said it is unclear just how many illegal immigrants have FHA mortgages since “FHA does not retain citizenship or residency data from the loan application and therefore does not maintain information on the number of non-permanent residents who have received FHA-insured loans under past policies.”
In 2021, the Biden administration ordered FHA lenders to allow illegal migrants to enroll in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to qualify for federally funded home loans. However, HUD’s new policy will block DACA as well as those with pending asylum claims from access to the loans.
HUD Puts a Stop to Illegal Immigrants Buying Homes
“HUD is prioritizing Americans, not illegal aliens,” Turner posted on X. “Those that are here illegally, that are living in HUD-funded public housing, we’re putting (them) on notice this is not acceptable,” he told Fox News Digital. “We will not have it anymore.”
He continued: “At HUD, we only serve one out of four Americans that we should be serving, and that has to come to an end. And so we’re not only making it a priority, but we are making that our only priority, that American citizens will benefit from hard-working American taxpayer dollars.”
HUD claimed there are at least 9 million residents receiving public and subsidized housing “without proper information sharing to determine eligibility status,” the New York Post explained. Furthermore, “about 59% of illegal migrant households benefit from at least one government welfare program, accounting for roughly $42 billion in costs.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem reiterated in a statement that the Biden administration prioritized illegal aliens over citizens and gave the warning: “If you are an illegal immigrant, you should leave now. The gravy train is over.”
Impact on Housing Costs and Availability
Banning illegal immigrants from federally funded housing and homebuying loans takes away one more big incentive for travelers looking to relocate in the United States. But what will this do to the housing market, if anything? With more money being spent on Americans and the demand for housing potentially relenting a bit, will that drive the cost of purchasing a home down?
Liberty Nation News Economics Editor Andrew Moran had this to say:
“Mortgage rates are primarily driven by movement in the benchmark ten-year Treasury yield, so this decision will not impact borrowing costs. As for home prices, this might alleviate somewhat the price tag because of less demand. However, as Liberty Nation News has reported and as the research shows, illegals are more likely to be renters than homebuyers. Still, any decision that repeals efforts to extend taxpayer-funded homebuying assistance creates fairness in the broader housing market.”
Although this move is certain to upset some immigration activists, it makes sense. As Turner said, the HUD-backed mortgages should benefit Americans “who play by the rules and work hard, not those who enter the country illegally.”
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