The California Legislature passed a bill Aug. 28 that allows illegal immigrants to access programs that provide down payment money for first-time homebuyers.
“The social and economic benefits of home ownership should be accessible to all, regardless of immigration status,” Arambula said on the Assembly floor Aug. 28. “We need to remind ourselves that we are a nation of immigrants. This is a bill about fairness.”
Lawmakers created the Dream for All program through legislative actions in 2021 and 2022 that ordered state agencies to develop a framework to improve homeownership affordability for Californians earning low and middle incomes.
The program provides up to 20 percent of purchase prices—with a maximum of $150,000—in what’s known as a shared appreciation loan where homeowners repay the borrowed funds and a portion of the home’s appreciated value when they sell the property.
When the program offered loans for the first time in 2023, applicants overwhelmed the system, and the $300 million allocated was exhausted within two weeks of launch.
One colleague in the Assembly thanked the author for introducing the measure.
“This bill ... humanizes the large population that contributes tremendously to our robust economy,” Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia said while debating the bill Aug. 28. “This is a simple bill ... adding a human element to statute ... that’s long overdue.”
Another colleague highlighted the billions of dollars in taxes paid by hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants in California.
“People that qualify ... should have access to the very programs that they are contributing to funding,” Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo said before voting for the bill Wednesday.
Groups supporting the bill include the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, the American Civil Liberties Union California Action, and the Western Center on Law and Poverty, among others.
While no organizations were listed in legislative analyses opposing the bill, the measure experienced pushback from some lawmakers in earlier committee hearings and on the Senate and Assembly floors.
Some critical of the bill said the limited amount of funds in the program is one reason citizens should be prioritized over illegal immigrants.
“It’s not fair,” Assemblyman Tom Lackey said while debating the bill Aug. 28. “This is not the right path. It defies accountability.”
One lawmaker, the granddaughter of legal immigrants, said the state’s programs that are providing free healthcare, food, and now potentially down payment loans, are incentivizing illegal immigration.
“Immigrants look to California’s current policies like a giant welcome sign,” Assemblywoman Kate Sanchez said before voting against the proposal. “This isn’t rocket science. If you’re giving out free stuff, more people are going to come.”
Another vocal critic said the bill is encouraging others to disregard federal immigration laws and is unfair to those who entered the country legally.
“It really is offensive,” Assemblyman Bill Essayli said while urging lawmakers to reject the bill Wednesday. “I really feel it’s a slap in the face to legal immigrants when we incentivize the breaking of our laws and the normalizing of being in this country unlawfully.”
The bill passed Aug. 27 in the Senate on a vote of 25–14 and on a vote of 45–15 in the Assembly’s vote Wednesday.
With the bill now approved by the legislature, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto it.
