Posted on 09/23/2008 1:32:40 PM PDT by Kimberly GG
September 23, 2008 Exclusive: How Many Subprime Mortgages Were Awarded to Illegal Aliens?
This short news report [see my comment below] might have been a bit longer if it had been written a couple of weeks later than it was. This story is dated September 5th and deals with one of the key issues about immigration that virtually no one is willing to talk about - especially politicians and others who subscribe to the open borders philosophy and to the idea of providing the millions of illegal aliens who are in our country with a Guest Worker Amnesty Program and a "Pathway to United States Citizenship." It deals with illegal aliens using stolen Social Security numbers and false immigration documents to apply for a home loan.
The challenges confronting our nation in dealing with the millions of illegal aliens who are in our country are numerous and significant. In my opinion, the most daunting challenge, and one that is fraught with national security implications, deals with accurately identifying millions of illegal aliens who have no reliable way of proving their identities. Our officials cannot be certain as to the true names of these millions of people. There is no way of determining their true nationality. There is no way of knowing when, where or how they entered the United States. Therefore, there is no way of truly knowing if they are wanted for crimes in other countries. There is also no way of determining if they are affiliated with criminal or terrorist organizations.
Absent all of the information I noted above, there is absolutely no way of knowing with any certainty, the intentions of these millions of aliens who have shown utter contempt for our nation's borders and our nation's laws.
Certainly the majority of illegal aliens are desperate people. They are not able to live decent lives in their own countries and consequently they are willing to take incredible risks to enter our country and take jobs Americans would be happy to do for living wages under reasonable conditions.
The problem is that there is no way of separating the illegal alien who is simply seeking illegal employment and the alien whose goal is far more nefarious. And regardless of their goals, neither of them should be here in the first place.
Hope is not a strategy. Hoping that the illegal alien who appears to simply be determined to get a job and send money home is no guarantee that he is not involved in a more sinister plan. Many years ago, in the early 1980s, I was involved in a raid conducted at a diner in Staten Island, New York. We arrested nine illegal aliens from various countries, including several from Latin America. Among them was a couple from Greece (they had worked on a ship and jumped ship upon arrival in New York). One alien, a citizen of Egypt who had been employed as a dishwasher, attempted to escape arrest by running through the parking lot at the rear of the diner. He ran across the roofs of cars and it took a major effort to finally arrest him. When we were finally able to corral him and place him in handcuffs he agreed to allow us to take him to his apartment to get his passport. The passport was important to properly identify him and to facilitate his deportation from the United States.
When my partner and I entered his apartment (located a short distance from the diner), we found about a half dozen large shopping bags filled to the brim with coupons for various items we were certain he had no use for. Among the products for which he had coupons were diapers, dog food and women's sanitary products. He was a single man with no wife or girl friend, no kids and no pets.
He also had no explanation for the coupons except to lamely claim that kids in the neighborhood "played with the coupons." When we asked him which kids and how they might play with them, he shrugged his shoulders and refused to discuss the coupons.
He was ultimately deported and then, several months afterwards I watched a televised news report about how terrorists from the Middle East had been coming to the United States to engage in coupon fraud to fund terrorist attacks around the world! The "dishwasher" we had arrested was obviously one of them. I have often wondered where he is now and what role he might have played in the terrorist attacks I have read about, including the first attack on the World Trade Center on February 26, 1993 and the attacks of September 11, 2001.
The story that prompted this commentary demonstrates that illegal aliens may also be involved in criminal activities that can literally reverberate through our nation. While the news article provides the names of the couple that was arrested, I wonder what their true names and nationalities might be. This is why when police arrest a suspect they fingerprint him (her) because bad guys use changes of identity the way that a chameleon uses changes in coloration, to hide in plain sight among his intended victims!
Identity theft has been defined as being the "fastest growing white collar crime in America." It is my belief that illegal aliens contribute greatly to this epidemic that can make the honest person whose identity is stolen miserable.
I suggest you ask yourself how many of the sub-prime mortgages that have contributed greatly to the financial crisis that threatens our country may have been awarded to illegal aliens who committed identity theft as did the couple who were arrested.
In the name of national security, citizens of the United States are finding it increasingly difficult to obtain driver's licenses and other identity documents. While this inconvenience is unfortunate, I believe that these measures are necessary, especially in this perilous era. The point is that the continuing entry and presence of illegal aliens in our country whose identities are unknown and unknowable represent a threat to national security and to the safety of our citizens. That is why I wrote a commentary for the Washington Times last year as the Senate took up the issue of "Comprehensive Immigration Reform," in which I appropriately renamed that fatally-flawed legislation the "Terrorist Assistance and Facilitation Act of 2007."
Any sort of wide-spread legalization process for those millions of illegal aliens would simply provide terrorists and criminals with an opportunity to create false identities for themselves and would simply create the illusion of security. What's worse than no security? False security. Any Guest Worker Amnesty Program for illegal aliens certainly represents false security. This is unacceptable.
"Illegal couple applied for home loan using stolen SSNs
September 5th, 2008 @ 2:37pm by KTAR Newsroom
Arizona Department of Public Safety detectives arrested a couple applying for a $159,000 home loan using stolen social security numbers and false immigration documents.
Jose Ozuna Alvarez and Ana Laura Balerrama are both believed to be illegal immigrants. Investigators said they got jobs, bought as many as three new vehicles and obtained multiple credit cards using stolen social security numbers - one belonging to a nine-year-old child.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is holding the pair for deportation."
Holding FOR DEPORTATION???? What about the crimes they've committed. Deporting them before the revolving doors on our borders are effectively secured is the same as letting them go to repeat offend. An American citizen in this situation certainly wouldn't stand a chance of getting away with these crimes. And, had they not gotten caught, either of our candidates would have eventually rewarded them with amnesty. When and how are we, as Americans, going to put an end to the insanity and TAKE BACK OUR COUNTRY? NOT just from illegal aliens, but from the TREASONOUS POLITICIANS INTENT ON DESTROYING US FROM WITHIN?
“Exclusive: How Many Subprime Mortgages Were Awarded to Illegal Aliens?”
I’m guessing it’s a pretty small number. There were many loans made to unqualified people that are US citizens. That’s the problem..
Friday, September 2, 2005
Latinos’ economic power increasing’We’ve been working with the community for a little more than seven years, and now I think we are reaping what we have sown.’ Patricia Amann Branch manager, Bank of Bartlett
The economic impact of the burgeoning Latino population in Memphis may be as difficult to measure as it is obvious to see.
According to the Census Bureau, Memphis is now identified as an emerging Latino community. It is also a “non-traditional gateway” — a trend whereby Hispanics are beginning to move into new areas from the more traditional gateways like Texas and California. In fact, the largest rates of population growth are now being found throughout the Southeast and Midwest.
According to the Selig Center for Economic Growth, Tennessee ranks in the top ten in Hispanic buying power for emerging states. Latino workers were estimated to have earned $570.8 million in wages and salaries in the Memphis area in 2000, generating approximately $12.3 million in local and state sales taxes.
The Selig Center estimates that Latinos spent almost $360 million in the Memphis economy in 2000 — a number that has almost certainly increased.
A pair of studies authored by professors David Ciscel, Barbara Ellen Smith and Marcela Mendoza from the Center for Research on Women at the University of Memphis asserts that the large number of Latino immigrants being incorporated into the local labor market is “a development of historical significance.”
The studies suggests that no single industry has been impacted more by the influx of Latino immigrants than Memphis’ ubiquitous logistics industries, where “spot” or “day” labor has become the driving force of the regional economic growth in the sector.
The flexibility, reliability and affordability offered by new immigrants are the most desirable characteristics employers seek in the hiring process. New immigrants — particularly those who are undocumented, “socially transitory, legally vulnerable, and overwhelmingly motivated to work” — are predisposed to respond to the fickle labor demands of employers.
“In the Memphis logistics sector, employers increasingly use Latino immigrants to create new, flexible terms of employment,” the study states. “Lacking fringe benefits such as health insurance and pensions, as well as more customary benefits such as sick leave and paid vacations, Latinos may be hired briefly, cheaply, and flexibly.”
According to U.S. Census figures, there are more than 40 million Latinos in the U.S. right now, of which approximately 11 million are undocumented. The exact number of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. is impossible to measure.
In general, the growth rate of the Hispanic population in the U.S. dwarfs the growth rate of the non-Hispanic population. The Census estimates that from 1990-2008, the U.S. Hispanic population will increase by almost 140%, more than five times the growth rate for non-Hispanics.
Meanwhile, Hispanic purchasing power has followed the population growth, surging to $700 billion in 2004, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. The growth of spendable income among Hispanics has been almost triple the national rate during the past ten years, and some are predicting that Hispanic purchasing power could reach as much as $1 trillion by 2010.
On a local level, officials have suggested that Memphis may have between 125,000-250,000 Hispanics living here now. The Census says there are about 35,000, but that only represents the fraction who actually filled out and returned the Census survey.
The Bank of Bartlett has become a leader in reaching out to the Hispanic community here. Bob Byrd, chairman and CEO of the Bank of Bartlett, says by the estimates he has seen, roughly 85% of the Spanish-speaking population in America is unbanked.
But that is something he hopes to change — in Memphis, at least.
“That 85% of $700 billion means about $600 billion could come into marketplace when liquidity is an issue,” Byrd says. “The U.S. does not have the means to deport 11 million people, and even if it could, the impact on the construction industries would be devastating, and the costs of goods and services would go up.
“Banking regulators and the IRS have taken the position - wisely, in my opinion - that their role is to collect taxes and not to get into politics.”
The banking products and services that the Bank of Bartlett can offer is determined by provisions in the Patriot Act and banking regulations. The lending products took more time to develop in order to make the legal criteria.
“You can’t just flip a switch and do it,” Byrd says. “We have gone through the legal processes to reach out to as many people as we can and we have been blessed by the regulators to offer those services.”
Bank of Bartlett also has about 20 people who speak Spanish and have some familiarity with the Latino culture, but Byrd says the bank is “still just scratching the surface.” The bank has built about 4,500 deposit accounts and has issued a growing number of loans to Hispanics that fit the very prescribed underwriting criteria.
Patricia Amann is a branch manager in Raleigh and the bank’s alternative mortgage manager. Originally from Peru, Amann came to the U.S. in 1996 when she was 25. She started as teller at the Bank of Bartlett in 2001.
http://memphis.bizjournals.com/memphis/stories/2005/09/05/focus1.html
““Exclusive: How Many Subprime Mortgages Were Awarded to Illegal Aliens?”
I’m guessing it’s a pretty small number. There were many loans made to unqualified people that are US citizens. That’s the problem..”
One is too many. These policies were made for and by organizations like LaRaza, who Fannie Mae and others contribute millions to every year. BAC, Wells Fargo, WaMu all made a big play a couple years ago for these illegal alien customers. There are thousands of them.
Bank of America to offer bank accounts, credit cards to illegal immigrants
[snip]
Fifty-one branches of Bank of America in Los Angeles County are launching the promotion.
Bank of America says they are simply going after an existing customer base in the Los Angeles area.
http://www.wwaytv3.com/node/396
Jan 23,2006
WHEDA home loans for illegal aliens program shut down
Supporters of illegal immigration will be saddened to learn that a bill signed into law last year will prevent the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) from giving home loans to illegal aliens.
The article with the news is from the Business Journal of Milwaukee and the author is Jennifer Batog, but it doesn’t appear to be at their site. In any case, it’s located at MSNBC under the misleading title “Detractors kill immigrant loan program”. Those in question aren’t “immigrants”, they’re “illegal aliens”. And, if MSNBC were in favor of this I doubt whether they would have used such negative words and in a negative sense.
“It’s going to have a devastating effect,” said Maria Monreal-Cameron, president and chief executive officer of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin.
The Immigrant Lending Program was a partnership among WHEDA, Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp. [contact them] and 25 banks statewide. Participating banks included Associated Bank, Green Bay; Guaranty Bank, Brown Deer; and Mitchell Bank, Milwaukee.
Some lawmakers, including state Sen. Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend), felt the effort rewarded illegal immigrants and sent a message that Wisconsin didn’t take immigration laws seriously.
...Ending the loan program was regrettable, [WHEDA executive director Antonio Riley] said, but he added signs are emerging that the private sector may begin offering fixed-rate loans to undocumented people at conventional rates. The program also increased lenders’ knowledge and understanding of how to underwrite and process loans for people without Social Security numbers, he said.
...MGIC insured mortgages obtained through the housing authority’s program. The agency was one of the lenders participating in MGIC’s “Building a Life in America” program, which insures mortgage loans for those without Social Security numbers, said Geoff Cooper of MGIC.
...[Mitchell Bank] will continue to offer mortgages to people without Social Security numbers...
...The loan program’s supporters could reintroduce the program in future legislation, Wieckert said.
Previously: Home loans
Bingo!
This is one of my biggest beefs with the “shamnesty”.
American citizens and legal residents are PROSECUTED for the felonies of stolen id, fake ss#’s, etc.
Our govt. wants to give them a get out of jail pass and citizenship, not PROSECUTION.
This is a violation of the EQUAL PROTECTION CLAUSE OF THE CONSTITUTION.
The govt. can not allow one special group to be free of prosecution for crimes, while prosecuting everyone else.
“Exclusive: How Many Subprime Mortgages Were Awarded to Illegal Aliens?”
Why, because they went south?
I’m willing to bet it was a large number.
Nice to know some journalists listen to The Savage Nation.
The question was asked months ago.
Posted on Saturday, September 01, 2007 8:22:34 PM by CutePuppy
Investors played a big role in pumping up home prices during the housing boom. Now, they account for an outsize proportion of loan defaults, mortgage bankers and builders say.
A survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association found that mortgages on properties that aren't occupied by the owner -- mostly investment homes -- account for between 21% and 32% of the defaults on prime-quality home loans in Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada, states where overdue payments are mounting fast.
Home Loans to Illegal Immigrants Sturdy But Show Some Cracks
The Washington Times ^ | 10-6-07 | Miriam Jordan
Posted on Wednesday, October 17, 2007 12:30:51 PM by JZelle
Despite the downturn of the mortgage market, a type of home loan has remained surprisingly sturdy: one extended to illegal immigrants.
Home Loans for Illegal Immigrants [no Social Security number? No legal residency? No Problem!]
ABC30.com ^ | November 19, 2005
Posted on Sunday, November 20, 2005 8:23:27 AM by John Jorsett
For many, it's the American dream: owning a home. With the recent spike in housing costs, it's become more difficult for many Valley families to qualify for a home loan. But some local banks are giving out loans, and they don't even require a social security number.
More articles of this type are available via Google Search: immigrants home loans.
ping
And each one can walk away from their mortgage leaving the person they stole the SSN from left to battle creditors.
I think the number is huge. Law enforcement runs into these people every day.
depository bank accounts are much different than mortgages.
The taxpayers are picking up the tab for mortgages that go bad, not bank accounts.
Maybe there in the heartland.
Where I live is a different story & you have no idea...
Would not surprise me that it is a large number of illegal aliens who got subprime mortgage.
I think only the “Staged Moon Landing” crowd or really rententive McCain supporters would deny that these loans were not given to illegals.
Stinks that many of us will have to pay for non-American anti-Americans and their non-payment of loans...if this bailout passes. Probably another reason the pro-illegal alien Bush wants this bailout so badly
While you may be right, I’m not so sure.
We have no laws against illegals purchasing homes to my knowledge.
We don’t seem to report them when they surface.
We did have credit agencies willing to lend money to just about anyone who wanted to fill out the paperwork (evidently).
I may be dead wrong, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all if we had many illegal alien home loans out there, and that they contributed to this mess.
Now, did we have a large group of citizens doing the same thing. That we do know for sure, and the answer is undeniably yes. Yes, damn it, we did.
for the AFIRE ping list
Of course they received them. One home in our old neighborhood had several families in the one house, in violation of single family county ordinances.
I think we should demand Mexico pony up some of any bailout money to cover their citizens.
I realize that. The point is the banks (BAC) etc. opened up for illegal aliens...mortgages and all. What good does it do you to ignore that fact?
The article title referenced mortgages to illegals, which I assume to not be a huge number of mortgages made to illegals in the scheme of things.
The core of the mortgage problem today has very little to do with illegals getting mortgages.
There are a huge number of illegals however who have bank accounts here. This is legally ok for banks to do, but it is morally wrong in my opinion.
But the real issue is that we let the flood of illegals in in the first place.
A lot of folks apparently don’t know that there were “no documentation” mortgages given out! My wife worked for a band for several years in the mortgage department. They did loans for the secondary market (kept none “in house”).
The bank actually hired a fellow specifically because of his Hispanic ethnicity and his Spanish skills to gain inroads to the rapidly growing Hispanic market in the Little Rock area.
One type of loan this fellow really pushed - the no documentation mortgage - no need for ID, nor of any verification of income. I couldn’t believe there was such a thing. Yes, the interest rate was WAY higher than a conforming loan, but the loans were out there, and being used.
The numbers are tremendous. The Plan to cover their downpayment DREAM came straight from Congress to get these people into houses so that would create a need for more new homes. They worked in the construction field, also a part of the Plan, just not written out. Bush needed to keep the economy going strong to cover the deficit trade with China and this is one of the steps he used.
I have no idea who is illegal and who is not, some have told me they are illegal, but I’m in the construction business here in Los Angeles and almost all of my work was for Hispanics. Most of them had wads of cash from Equity Loans and made all payments in cash. They insisted on hiring Hispanic illegal alien construction workers.
The few that did have a bank account, would have somebody else write the check, sometimes they handed me the checkbook to write myself a check, sometimes it was their 8 year old kid.
Almost all of my jobs were for adding small, 10 x 10, bedrooms to existing homes so that they could then rent them to more illegals. A small house with 7 or 9 bedrooms is common. Many of my jobs were because the city caught them building without permits.
The Contractors for these jobs made enough money to build a second home down in Mexico, homes that are nicer than most homes up here.
There’s plenty of reason to believe some of this mortgage mess is because of illegal aliens and their supporters.
Lenders use looser credit rules to tap into illegal immigrants ...
Immigrants struggle with illegitimacy — Many illegal immigrant families came ... Even before banks offered mortgages, illegal immigrants found ways to buy ...
www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/3504974.html
Citibank Offering Illegal Aliens Mortgages With Below Market ...
Citibank has been offering illegal aliens mortgages by using Taxpayer ID numbers ... many in-depth studies that show the cost-benefit of illegal aliens. ...
www.diggersrealm.com/mt/archives/001610.html - 86k
Mortgages for Illegal Aliens Encouraged by FDIC
Aug 3, 2005 ... Mortgages for Illegal Aliens Encouraged by FDIC. Diane M. Grassi ... as many decent blue collar jobs go directly to the illegal population ...
www.commonvoice.com/article.asp?colid=2501
Mortgages for illegal immigrants - BusinessWeek
Jul 30, 2007 ... It’s against federal law to induce an illegal alien to enter the U.S. .... the rise in mortgage fraud back in 2005—well ahead of many other ...
www.businessweek.com/the_thread/hotproperty/archives/2007/07/mortgages_for_i.html
BLACK VELVET BRUCE LI : Illegal Aliens And The Sub-Prime Mortgage ...
May 13, 2008 ... A 25-year veteran of the mortgage industry in California confided to me recently: “It boggles the mind to think how many illegal aliens are ...
www.bvbl.net/index.php/2008/05/13/illegal-aliens-and-the-sub-prime-mortgage-meltdown/
Selling illegal immigrants the American dream
Jun 15, 2006 ... Opponents of illegal immigration deplore mortgages for ... The program acknowledges the reality that many Latino immigrants do not have much ...
www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/06/15/MNGRMJEGM81.DTL
Banks help illegal immigrants own their own home - Aug. 8, 2005
While Schumer wasn’t willing to disclose how many of mortgages the company ... many illegal immigrants use this form of identification to pay U.S. taxes and ...
money.cnn.com/2005/08/08/news/economy/illegal_immigrants/index.htm
Feds Encouraging Illegal Aliens to Get Mortgages
Feds Encouraging Illegal Aliens to Get Mortgages. NewsMax.com Wires Wednesday, July 20, 2005. While it’s illegal to hire undocumented workers, ...
archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2005/7/20/125223.shtml
The Seattle Times: Business & Technology: Mortgages for illegal ...
Nov 16, 2006 ... Mortgages to illegal immigrants were rare in 1999 when he closed on ... Among the nation’s estimated 12 million illegal immigrants, many of ...
seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003433010_mortgage16m.html -
Wow...thanks for organizing a list. The writing has been on the wall, but don’t you think it’s interesting that nary a word is being spoken about the number of the subprimes that SPECIFICALLY went to illegal aliens. “And so by the year 2010, we must increase minority home owners by at least 5.5 million.” GWB.... Exactly what did they THINK was going to happen? But heck, I’ve yet to hear or read the words ‘illegal alien’ in any report on the crisis.! Not once. I’ll bet no one has considered the number of mortgages given with ITIN’s only. Should be easy enough to figure out, but hey, nobody wants to ‘figure’. And if they have, they sure aren’t saying. Everyone I’ve talked to is completely clueless that there is a connection between them and the housing/economic crisis. Our memories are short...GIT YOUR BARF BAGS OUT!!
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 17, 2002
President Calls for Expanding Opportunities to Home Ownership
Remarks by the President on Homeownership
St. Paul AME Church
Atlanta, Georgia
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much for that wonderful Atlanta welcome. It’s nice to be back in this incredibly important community.
You know, our nation faces a lot of huge challenges. Right now, we’ve got 60,000 troops fighting terrorism so that we can be free, all of us can be free. I appreciate so very much the resolve and unity and determination of this great land. I appreciate our military for their sacrifices. We’re also doing everything we can to secure the homeland, to make sure that those who hate us won’t take innocent life again.
President George W. Bush and new home owner Al Smith tour Pryor Road Corridor Development in Atlanta, Georgia, Monday, June 17. White House photo by Eric Draper. And as we work for a more secure world, we’ve got to work for a better world, too. (Applause.) And that means as we work on our security from possible attacks by terrorists, we also work on economic security. The two securities go hand in hand. Anybody who wants a job who can’t find one means we’ve got a problem. In Washington, they talk statistics all the time, and that’s important — people who count numbers need to make a living, too. (Laughter and applause.)
But my attitude is, if somebody can’t find work and they want to work, we’ve got to continue to work on expanding the job base. And part of economic security is owning your own home. (Applause.) Part of being a secure America is to encourage homeownership. So somebody can say, this is my home, welcome to my home.
Now, we’ve got a problem here in America that we have to address. Too many American families, too many minorities do not own a home. There is a home ownership gap in America. The difference between Anglo America and African American and Hispanic home ownership is too big. (Applause.) And we’ve got to focus the attention on this nation to address this.
And it starts with setting a goal. And so by the year 2010, we must increase minority home owners by at least 5.5 million. In order to close the homeownership gap, we’ve got to set a big goal for America, and focus our attention and resources on that goal. (Applause.)
And I picked a good man to help realize that goal, in Mel Martinez. I don’t know if you know Mel’s story, but — (applause) — it’s an interesting story. Mel was born in Cuba. (Applause.) Yes. Mel brought his cousins with him. (Laughter.) All two of them, anyway. (Laughter and applause.)
But Mel’s mother and daddy — Mel’s mother and dad put him on an airplane to come to America when he was a young boy, because they didn’t want his son growing up in a country that wasn’t free. Think about that, think about the courage of a mom or a dad, and their love for freedom — love freedom so much, they had put their child in the hands of loving Americans, and mom and dad eventually came. And here he now sits, as a member of the President’s Cabinet. What a great country we have. (Applause.)
My point is, Mel understands what it means to dream, and then to work to realize the dreams. I’ve also picked a fine friend of mine from Texas, named Alphonso Jackson, to serve as the Deputy of HUD. And where are you, Alphonso? There he is; I appreciate you. (Applause.) These are can-do people. So when we set a goal, they understand their job is to work toward that goal.
I also want to thank the Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, Shirley Franklin, thank you for coming Madam Mayor. (Applause.) Much of the success of this program is going to depend — depends upon the ability for the federal government to work with state and local governments. And I know the Mayor has got a strong commitment to housing for all people, and to end the ownership gap. Madam Mayor, thanks for coming.
I appreciate as well Johnny Isakson and John Linder, members of the Georgia congressional delegation for coming today. Thank you all for being here. (Applause.) I want to thank Franklin Raines, of Fannie Mae and Leland Brendsel of Freddie Mac. Thank you all for coming. (Applause.)
Today I had the pleasure of seeing an entrepreneur’s work first-hand. An Atlanta citizen who also dreamt a dream, and that is to develop a piece of blighted property, so others could benefit from her vision and hard work. Masharn Wilson is here. (Applause.) She is a President and CEO — Masharn is the President and CEO of her own company. Part of the economic security is not only owning a home, part of it is if you have the entrepreneurial instincts is to own your own business, as well. (Applause.) So I want to appreciate you, Masharn. I appreciate your hard work.
And one other person I want to announce is a fellow named Darryl Hicks. Where are you, Darryl?
MR. HICKS: Right here.
THE PRESIDENT: There you are. Darryl Hicks is here. I want to — Darryl is — one of the things I remind our fellow citizens, if you’re interested in defeating evil, do some good. You see, we’re going to fight with our military, but we can also fight with our hearts. And a country which has been under attack can respond by loving your neighbor like you’d like to be loved yourself.
And this man right here is a fellow — Darryl Hicks — who works for Habitat for Humanity programs. He’s interested in lending his heart and his talents to helping a neighbor in need. America can be changed one heart, one soul, one conscience at a time, so long as we are willing to love a neighbor like we’d like to be loved ourselves. (Applause.)
I want to thank you, Darryl. I want to thank Darryl for being a soldier in the army of compassion. And I also want to thank Reverend Dr. Thomas Bess for opening up this beautiful church. You know, one of my passions is the faith-based initiative. It is important that Congress not fear faith-based programs, but welcome faith-based programs, so we can help change people’s lives. (Applause.)
I find it most interesting that we would be talking about how we help people in a church. After all, that’s why churches exist.
AUDIENCE: Mm-hmm.
THE PRESIDENT: And so I am — I want to thank the church staff for opening up this beautiful facility to the army which follows me around. (Laughter.)
I do believe in the American Dream. I believe there is such a thing as the American Dream. And I believe those of us who have been given positions of responsibility must do everything we can to spotlight the dream and to make sure the dream shines in all neighborhoods, all throughout our country. Owning a home is a part of that dream, it just is. Right here in America if you own your own home, you’re realizing the American Dream.
You know, today I went to the — to some of the home — met some of the homeowners in this newly built homes and all you’ve got to do is shake their hand and listen to their stories and watch the pride that they exhibit when they show you the kitchen and the stairs — so people like Ken Beatty, who is an environmentalist; or Al Smith, a probation officer; or Geary Jefferson a data base administrator; or Darrin West, an Atlanta police officer, Tamika Henry — Tomika Henry Cole.
These are all people that I’ve met; they’ve come over here today. They showed me their home. They didn’t show me somebody else’s home, they showed me their home. And they are so proud to own their home and I want to thank them for their hospitality, because it helps the American people really understand what it means.
And what we’ve got to do is to figure out how to make sure these stories are repeated over and over and over again in America. Three-quarters of white America owns their homes. Less than 50 percent of African Americans are part of the homeownership in America. And less than 50 percent of the Hispanics who live here in this country own their home. And that has got to change for the good of the country. It just does. (Applause.)
And so here are some of the ways to address the issue. First, the single greatest barrier to first time homeownership is a high downpayment. It is really hard for many, many, low income families to make the high downpayment. And so that’s why I propose and urge Congress to fully fund the American Dream Downpayment Fund. This will use money, taxpayers’ money to help a qualified, low income buyer make a downpayment. And that’s important.
One of the barriers to homeownership is the inability to make a downpayment. And if one of the goals is to increase homeownership, it makes sense to help people pay that downpayment. We believe that the amount of money in our budget, fully approved by Congress, will help 40,000 families every year realize the dream of owning a home. (Applause.) Part of the success of Park Place is that the city of Atlanta already does this. And we want to make the plan more robust. We want to make it more full all across America.
Secondly, there is a lack of affordable housing in certain neighborhoods. Too many neighborhoods, especially in inner city America, lack affordable housing units. How can you promote homeownership if people can’t afford a home?
And so what I’ve done is propose what we call a Single Family Affordable Housing Tax Credit, to encourage the development of affordable housing in neighborhoods where housing is scarce. (Applause.) Over five years, the initiative amounts to $2.4 billion in tax credits. And that will help. It will help a lot to build homes where people can — where when fully implemented, people will be able to say, I own my home.
A third major barrier is the complexity and difficulty of the home buying process. There’s a lot of fine print on these forms. And it bothers people, it makes them nervous. And so therefore, what Mel has agreed to do, and Alphonso Jackson has agreed to do is to streamline the process, make the rules simpler, so everybody understands what they are — makes the closing much less complicated.
We certainly don’t want there to be a fine print preventing people from owning their home. We can change the print, and we’ve got to. We’ve got to be wise about how we deal with the closing documents and all the regulations, but also wise about how we help people understand what it means to own their home and the obligations and the opportunities.
And so, therefore, education is a critical component of increasing ownership throughout America. Financial education, housing counseling, how to help people understand that there are unscrupulous lenders. And so one of the things we’re going to do is we’re going to promote education, the education of owning a home, the education of buying a home throughout our society. And we want to fully implement the Section 8 housing program, homeownership program. The program will provide vouchers that first-time home buyers can use to help pay their mortgage or apply to their downpayment.
Many of the partners today, many of the people here today, many of the business leaders here today are creating a market for the mortgages where Section 8 vouchers are a source of the payment. And that’s good — see, it’s an underpinning of capital. It helps move capital to where we want capital to go.
And so these are important initiatives that we can do at the federal government. And the federal government, obviously, has to play an important role, and we will. We will. I mean, when I lay out a goal, I mean it. But we also have got to bring others into the process, most particularly the real estate industry. After all, the real estate industry benefits when people are encouraged to buy homes. It’s in their self interest that we encourage people to buy homes. (Applause.)
And so one of the things that I’m going to talk about a little bit today is how to create a sustained commitment by the private sector that will have a powerful impact. First of all, we want to make sure that we help work to expand capital available to buyers, and as I mentioned, overcome the barriers that I’ve delineated, as well as provide the education component. In other words, this is not just a federal responsibility.
That’s why I’ve challenged the industry leaders all across the country to get after it for this goal, to stay focused, to make sure that we achieve a more secure America, by achieving the goal of 5.5 million new minority home owners. I call it America’s home ownership challenge.
And let me talk about some of the progress which we have made to date, as an example for others to follow. First of all, government sponsored corporations that help create our mortgage system — I introduced two of the leaders here today — they call those people Fannie May and Freddie Mac, as well as the federal home loan banks, will increase their commitment to minority markets by more than $440 billion. (Applause.) I want to thank Leland and Franklin for that commitment. It’s a commitment that conforms to their charters, as well, and also conforms to their hearts.
This means they will purchase more loans made by banks after Americans, Hispanics and other minorities, which will encourage homeownership. Freddie Mac will launch 25 initiatives to eliminate homeownership barriers. Under one of these, consumers with poor credit will be able to get a mortgage with an interest rate that automatically goes down after a period of consistent payments. (Applause.)
Fannie Mae will establish 100 partnerships with faith-based organizations that will provide home buyer education and help increase homeownership for their congregations. I love the partnership. (Applause.)
The Enterprise Foundation and the local initiative support corporation will increase efforts to build and rehabilitate more homes in inner cities at affordable prices by working with local community development corporations.
In my home state of Texas, Enterprise helped turn the once decaying ideal neighborhood of Dallas into a vibrant community, by building homes that were sold to residents at affordable prices. The National Association of Home Builders will team up with local officials, home builder associations and community groups in 20 of our nation’s largest housing markets, to focus on how to eliminate barriers, and encourage homeownership.
The Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation will dramatically expand financial and home buyer education efforts to 380,000 minority families. The Neighborhood Housing Services of America will raise $750 million to promote homeownership initiatives in many communities. We’re beginning to use the Internet better, so that realtors all across the country will be able to call up programs all designed to help minority home buyers understand what’s available, what’s possible, and what to avoid. The National Realtors Association will create a central data bank of affordable housing programs, which will be made available to agents, real estate agents, to help people.
So these are some of the beginnings of a national effort. And I want to thank all those who are responsible for the organizations I just named for lending your talents to this important effort for America. You know, one of the things Presidents can do, is they can call the old conference. So I’m going to call one — (laughter) — just to make sure people understand, not only are we serious, but to let them check in. If they’ve signed up and said they’re going to help, this will give everybody a chance to say, here’s what I’ve done to help. It’s what we call accountability. (Applause.)
And so this fall, we’re going to have a White House conference. It is a White House conference specifically designed to address the homeownership gap. It is a White House conference that will not only say, what have you done to date, have you got any new ideas that we can share with others as well. I’m serious about this. This is a very important initiative for all of America. See, it is a chance for us to empower people. We’re not going to talk about empowering government, we’re talking about empowering people, so they have got choices over their lives. (Applause.)
I want to go back to where I started. I believe out of the evil done to America will come incredible good. I believe that as sure as I’m standing here. I believe we can achieve peace. I believe that we can address hopelessness and despair where hopelessness and despair exist. And listen, I understand that in this great country, there are too many people who say, this American Dream, what does that mean; my eyes are shut to the American Dream, I don’t see the dream. And we’d better make sure, for the good of the country, that the dream is vibrant and alive.
It starts with having great education systems for every single child. (Applause.) It means that we unleash the faith-based programs to help change people’s hearts, which will help change their lives. (Applause.) It means we use the mighty muscle of the federal government in combination with state and local governments to encourage owning your own home. That’s what that means. And it means — it means that each of us, each of us, have a responsibility in the great country to put something greater than ourselves — to promote something greater than ourselves.
And to me, that something greater than yourself is to love a neighbor like you’d like to be loved yourself. In order to change America and to make sure the great American Dream shines in every community, every community, we must unleash the compassion and kindness of the greatest nation on the face of the earth.
I’m honored to be here today. I want to thank you for your interest. God bless you all, and God bless America. (Applause.)
“Wow...thanks for organizing a list. The writing has been on the wall, but don’t you think it’s interesting that nary a word is being spoken about the number of the subprimes that SPECIFICALLY went to illegal aliens.”
I think it’s impossible to get a number, Kim, since we can’t even ask status...wouldn’t be fair....besides it provides plausible deniability..., “but, but, we didn’t know!!
One was too many.
Know what kind of ‘help’ I got on a mortgage from the government? We had a veteran’s loan. They messed up and raised the rate to 12.9%. It took me 5 years to get it corrected, and the payments darn near broke me, they doubled!
Finally they corrected it, reduced the loan back to where it should have been then reported it on an I-9 as INCOME! This was the year my mother died and I was very ill and didn’t work, but I had to pay thousands in income tax because of this.
Lots of ‘em. No doc loans were the key.
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