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‘California Dream for All’: Bill to grant illegals state-backed, interest-free first-time homeowner loans

March 3, 2024 | | Print Article

It’s the “California Dream for All.”

Well… not all, exactly, but the swarm of military-age migrants who are illegally crossing into the Golden State from Mexico are sure thrilled with Assembly Bill 1840.

The bill was introduced earlier this year by Democrat Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula and would grant the law-breakers interest-free state loans to buy their first homes, even as thousands of homeless Americans blanket California’s streets with tents.

According to the Los Angeles Times, “The California Dream for All Shared Appreciation Loans program that launched last March by the California Housing Finance Agency offered qualified first-time home buyers with a loan worth up to 20% of the purchase price of a house or condominium.”

“The loans don’t accrue interest or require monthly payments,” the Times explains. “Instead, when the mortgage is refinanced or the house is sold again, the borrower pays back the original amount of the loan plus 20% of the increase in the home’s value.”

But what about the nearly 100,000 migrants who’ve invaded San Diego in the past six months alone? How will American citizens residing in California pay for their dreams to come true?

It’s that “ambiguity” that Arambula hopes to clear up with the updated AB 1840.

“It’s that ambiguity for undocumented individuals, despite the fact that they’ve qualified under existing criteria, such as having a qualified mortgage,” Arambula told the Times. “Underscores the pressing need for us to introduce legislation.”

The revised bill now stipulates that an applicant under the California Dream for All Program “shall not be disqualified solely based on the applicant’s immigration status.”

“Without the explicit status, undocumented individuals may be discouraged or left out of the opportunity to participate, Arambula said,” according to the Times.

And God forbid we discourage illegal migrants.

“Homeownership has historically been the primary means of accumulating generational wealth in the United States,” Arambula said. “The social and economic benefits of homeownership should be available to everyone.”

To EVERYONE, and California citizens should pay for it.

“Existing law establishes the California Dream for All Fund, which is continuously appropriated for expenditure pursuant to the program and defraying the administrative costs for the agency,” the bill reads. And the update added, “Existing law authorizes moneys deposited into the fund to include, among other moneys, appropriations from the Legislature from the General Fund or other state fund.”

Also added was this: “By expanding the persons eligible to receive moneys from a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation. The bill would recast the fund so that appropriations from the Legislature from the General Fund or other state fund are deposited into the California Dream for All Subaccount, which the bill would create and make available upon appropriation by the Legislature for specified purposes.”

According to the Times: “The California Dream for All Shared Appreciation Loans program hit its applications limit of about 2,300 applicants in 11 days last year and the program was halted.”

“This year,” the outlet explains, “the program will replace its first-come, first-serve basis with a lottery. Interested people can submit their application now, with the lottery taking place in April.”

And, yes, the number of people eligible for the “dream” has been expanded.

“Another change to the program is its income eligibility threshold, which was 150% of a county’s median area and has been dropped to 120%,” the Times reports. “That means applicants must earn less than the threshold annually to be eligible.”

“In Los Angeles County,” the Times notes, “the income threshold is $155,000.”

Melissa Fine
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