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Cash-Strapped California Inches Closer To Handing Taxpayer Home Loans To Illegal Migrants

Published

10 months ago

7 minute read

From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Jason Hopkins

 

California lawmakers are one step closer to making hundreds of millions of taxpayer-funded home loans available to residents living in the country illegally.

Democrats on the California Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously approved AB 1840 to move forward on Thursday, according to an official vote tally of the legislation. The bill has one last chance to be struck down on the Senate floor, where Democrats wield majority power, before it lands on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.

The legislation seeks to amend the California Dream For All Shared Appreciation Loan program, an initiative launched last year that provides first-time homebuyers with a loan of up to 20% of the house’s purchase price for down payment or closing cost. If passed and signed into law, illegal migrants living in California would be eligible to apply for a piece of the pie.

“Once again, California has chosen to prioritize illegal immigration and fiscal irresponsibility over the needs of its citizens, all while facing a $60 billion deficit that will ultimately be passed onto taxpayers,” San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond said in a statement provided to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“California is in dire financial straits, yet lawmakers continue to prioritize programs that incentivize illegal immigration and strain local resources,” Desmond continued. “Expanding this program to include illegal immigrants is not just another handout — it’s a massive overreach that shifts the financial burden onto law-abiding taxpayers.”

These taxpayer-funded home loans are interest-free and borrowers are not required to dole out monthly payments, making the program incredibly popular with California residents.

When applications for the $300 million program first opened up in May 2023 — offering interest-free loans to roughly 2,300 middle and lower-income homebuyers — the money ran out in less than two weeks, according to the LA Times. State officials have since tightened eligibility for the program, requiring that at least one of the applicants be a first-generation home buyer and replacing the first-come-first-serve model with a lottery.

Despite California struggling to cope with a budget deficit in the tens of billions of dollars, and availability for the program incredibly tight already, one state lawmaker felt the loan program wasn’t inclusive enough.

Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula, a Democrat from Fresno, first introduced AB 1840 in January, with the goal of broadening the definition of “first-time home buyer” to include illegal immigrants. The lawmaker argued in March that the “social and economic benefits of homeownership should be available to everyone,” according to a local news KTLA. Arambula did not immediately respond to the the DCNF’s request for comment.

The legislation has since easily passed the Democrat-dominated California Assembly and sailed through the Senate Appropriations Committee — with opposition exclusively relegated to GOP lawmakers.

“California’s budget deficit continues to grow and Democratic lawmakers are so out of touch with everyday Californians that they and are quite literally taking money away from law-abiding citizens, their own constituents, and handing it over as a free gift to people who broke federal law to cross the border illegally,” California Sen. Brian Dahle stated to the DCNF.

“There’s no accountability and transparency when it comes to the Democrats’ spending sprees, and it’s unfortunate because many Californians see homeownership as nothing more than an illusion at this point,” Dahle continued.

California is experiencing a massive budget shortfall.

State lawmakers in June approved a budget that slashed spending and temporarily raised taxes on businesses in an effort to shore up a nearly $50 billion budget deficit, according to the Associated Press. The dire financial situation marks a far cry from the more than $100 billion surplus the state enjoyed roughly two years ago, but those revenue spikes proved only temporary as rising unemployment, inflation and a slowing of the tech industry has battered California pocketbooks.

The state’s deficit was roughly $ 32 billion in 2023, which grew to more than $46 billion earlier this year and is now around $60 billion, according to California Republicans — drawing questions as to why lawmakers would open up a highly-coveted loan program to a large swath of the population that does not hold legal status.

Nearly two million illegal migrants live in California, according to data published by the Pew Research Center in July.

It’s not immediately clear if Newsom will sign the legislation. When reached for comment, a spokesperson said the governor’s office does not typically comment on pending legislation, adding that the governor would “evaluate the legislation on its merits” should it reach his desk.

Approval of AB 1840 came on the same day that Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign announced she would be unveiling a proposal similar to her home state’s current program: $25,000 in down payment support for first-time homebuyers, including greater support for first-generation homeowners.

It’s not clear if the proposal from Harris — who has recently attempted to cast herself as more of a border hawk — would explicitly exclude illegal immigrants. Her campaign did not respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.

California Republicans, in the meantime, are left balking at their own state’s legislative actions.

“Many legal California residents can’t afford a home in their own state,” California Sen. Brian Jones said to the DCNF. He is one of only two GOP members on the Senate Appropriations Committee.

“Instead of addressing the housing crisis, radical Democrat lawmakers want to help illegal immigrants buy houses with the gift of taxpayer funds,” Jones continued. “With a $62 billion budget deficit, we need to focus on preserving essential government functions, not unfair political spending for those here illegally.”

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Natural gas pipeline ownership spreads across 36 First Nations in B.C.

Published on June 14, 2025

By

Chief David Jimmie is president of Stonlasec8 and Chief of Squiala First Nation in B.C. He also chairs the Western Indigenous Pipeline Group. Photo courtesy Western Indigenous Pipeline Group

From the Canadian Energy Centre

Stonlasec8 agreement is Canada’s first federal Indigenous loan guarantee

The first federally backed Indigenous loan guarantee paves the way for increased prosperity for 36 First Nations communities in British Columbia.

In May, Canada Development Investment Corporation (CDEV) announced a $400 million backstop for the consortium to jointly purchase 12.5 per cent ownership of Enbridge’s Westcoast natural gas pipeline system for $712 million.

In the works for two years, the deal redefines long-standing relationships around a pipeline that has been in operation for generations.

“For 65 years, there’s never been an opportunity or a conversation about participating in an asset that’s come through the territory,” said Chief David Jimmie of the Squiala First Nation near Vancouver, B.C.

“We now have an opportunity to have our Nation’s voices heard directly when we have concerns and our partners are willing to listen.”

Jimmie chairs the Stonlasec8 Indigenous Alliance, which represents the communities buying into the Enbridge system.

The name Stonlasec8 reflects the different regions represented in the agreement, he said.

The Westcoast pipeline stretches more than 2,900 kilometres from northeast B.C. near the Alberta border to the Canada-U.S. border near Bellingham, Wash., running through the middle of the province.

Map courtesy Enbridge

It delivers up to 3.6 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas throughout B.C. and the Lower Mainland, Alberta and the U.S. Pacific Northwest.

“While we see the benefits back to communities, we are still reminded of our responsibility to the land, air and water so it is important to think of reinvestment opportunities in alternative energy sources and how we can offset the carbon footprint,” Jimmie said.

He also chairs the Western Indigenous Pipeline Group (WIPG), a coalition of First Nations communities working in partnership with Pembina Pipeline to secure an ownership stake in the newly expanded Trans Mountain pipeline system.

There is overlap between the communities in the two groups, he said.

CDEV vice-president Sébastien Labelle said provincial models such as the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation (AIOC) and Ontario’s Indigenous Opportunities Financing Program helped bring the federal government’s version of the loan guarantee to life.

“It’s not a new idea. Alberta started it before us, and Ontario,” Labelle said.

“We hired some of the same advisors AIOC hired because we want to make sure we are aligned with the market. We didn’t want to start something completely new.”

Broadly, Jimmie said the Stonlasec8 agreement will provide sustained funding for investments like housing, infrastructure, environmental stewardship and cultural preservation. But it’s up to the individual communities how to spend the ongoing proceeds.

The long-term cash injections from owning equity stakes of major projects can provide benefits that traditional funding agreements with the federal government do not, he said.

Labelle said the goal is to ensure Indigenous communities benefit from projects on their traditional territories.

“There’s a lot of intangible, indirect things that I think are hugely important from an economic perspective,” he said.

“You are improving the relationship with pipeline companies, you are improving social license to do projects like this.”

Jimmie stressed the impact the collaborative atmosphere of the negotiations had on the success of the Stonlasec8 agreement.

“It takes true collaboration to reach a successful partnership, which doesn’t always happen. And from the Nation representation, the sophistication of the group was one of the best I’ve ever worked with.”

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Business

Trump: ‘Changes are coming’ to aggressive immigration policy after business complaints

Published on June 12, 2025

By

From The Center Square

By

“So we’re going to have an order on that pretty soon – we can’t do that to our farmers and leisure too, hotels, we’re going to have to use a lot of common sense on that.”

President Donald Trump said Thursday that changes are coming to his aggressive immigration policies after complaints from farmers and business owners.

“Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace,” Trump wrote in a social media post Thursday morning. “In many cases the Criminals allowed into our Country by the VERY Stupid Biden Open Borders Policy are applying for those jobs. This is not good. We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!”

Later Thursday, Trump made it clear that businesses need workers.

“Our farmers are being hurt badly. They have very good workers – they’re not citizens, but they’ve turned out to be great. And we’re going to have to do something about that,” the president said.

He added: “We can’t take farmers and take all their people and send them back because they don’t have, maybe, what they’re supposed to have.”

Just how Trump may change his approach to immigration enforcement remains unclear, but he said he wants to help farmers and business owners.

“You go into a farm and you look and people, they’ve been there for 20 or 25 years and they work great and the owner of the farm loves them and you’re supposed to throw them out. You know what happens? They end up hiring the criminals that have come in, the murderers from prisons and everything else,” Trump said.

Trump said changes would be coming soon, but gave little detail on how policies could change.

“So we’re going to have an order on that pretty soon – we can’t do that to our farmers and leisure too, hotels, we’re going to have to use a lot of common sense on that.”

In a later post on Truth Social, Trump said illegal immigration had destroyed American institutions.

“Biden let 21 Million Unvetted, Illegal Aliens flood into the Country from some of the most dangerous and dysfunctional Nations on Earth — Many of them Rapists, Murderers, and Terrorists. This tsunami of Illegals has destroyed Americans’ Public Schools, Hospitals, Parks, Community Resources, and Living Conditions,” the president wrote. “They have stolen American Jobs, consumed BILLIONS OF DOLLARS in Free Welfare, and turned once idyllic Communities, like Springfield, Ohio, into Third World Nightmares.”

He added that deportations would continue: “I campaigned on, and received a Historic Mandate for, the largest Mass Deportation Program in American History. Polling shows overwhelming Public Support for getting the Illegals out, and that is exactly what we will do. As Commander-in-Chief, I will always protect and defend the Heroes of ICE and Border Patrol, whose work has already resulted in the Most Secure Border in American History. Anyone who assaults or attacks an ICE or Border Agent will do hard time in jail. Those who are here illegally should either self deport using the CBP Home App or, ICE will find you and remove you. Saving America is not negotiable!”

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