CA: Home-buying program has cash,controversy - San Diego Co./Citibank recruit undocumented residents

San Diego Union-Tribune ^ | 2/6/06 | Zanine Zuniga

[NormsRevenge]

The local tax-ID program has kept a low profile – no Citibank or ACORN-issued news releases – because of the anti-immigrant backlash that the overall program has drawn. Citibank has processed 72 tax-ID loans nationally since October 2004, half in California.

[linear]

I'll be canceling my Citibank card today.

[TXBSAFH]

Ditto, but 0 balance. So they may not care.

[sheana]

Be sure and tell them why. I do. I also tell mngrs/owners why I will no longer shop/eat in their places of business.

[linear]

They may not care, but I do. lol.

[pikachu]

It will take a year or two before these loans for illegals make an impact in the San Diego housing market. You'll see two or three families join together to buy one modest house (in Sandy Eggo, modest is anything under $900,000) and then watch the property values go to heck.

[american spirit]

"Below market rates, down-payment assistance, no mortgage insurance".......now isn't that special? Here we have millions of hard working Americans struggling mightily to acquire the "American dream" of home ownership while being taxed and insuranced to death, yet illegals are afforded deals that most people will never see. It's becoming pretty obvious that some of these banking slimeballs have been a driving force behind the scenes to make sure illegals are "mainstreamed" into American life even though it is against federal law to aid and abet an illegal.......oh that's right, laws like that are only for the "little people".

[television is just wrong]

Dont' have an account there, won't now.

[Mr. Jeeves]

“There is no displacement of credit from natives to immigrants,” Paral said. “Banks have plenty of money to loan.”

That's probably true, since Greenspan created so much of it. ;)

[DumpsterDiver]

ping

[bkwells]

From the last paragraph: "“Like I was telling my mom, some people come here and abuse the system,” he said. “My mom never applied for welfare or anything. She's worked and paid taxes.

From 6 paragraphs earlier "Estela acknowledges not paying tax bills for two years..."

[longtermmemmory]

It should be FELONY MORTGAGE FRAUD to allow an illegal alien to sign a mortgage.

This is going to demand a federal solution. The home ownership (of up to EIGHT! signors!) is used to get green cards under the current rolling amnesty program. Thus for a price I will list you as an "owner" and you then are able to show ownership of the house and get to stay in the usa.

It is all about doctoring the visa applications.

[Grammy]

There is a big billboard here in Nashville that says on the left side (in English) "We will buy your house."
On the right side it says (in Spanish) "Own your own house, no down payment"

Needless to say, I will not be doing business with that company.

[Dat Mon]

When two income blue collar so called "working families" get wind of this program, and learn the fact that people, who are not even supposed to be in this country, can get a loan with no credit at BELOW MARKET RATES, there is going to be an EXPLOSION of anger, and rightfully so.

I don't care if the dems are complicit with it...its Bush and the Republicans who are going to be blamed for this.

It all seems to get back to the fact that special interests, such as apparently Citcorp and Wells Fargo, have persuaded many (but not all, thank God) of our politicians (on both sides of the aisle), at the Federal, State, and Local levels, to look the other way on illegal immigration.

That policy is guaranteed to backfire on Republicans over the long haul, IMO.

It is stupidity.

[clawrence3]

That's your right, even though as the article points out, the banks are not doing anything illegal.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Just buying the homes that Americans won't buy.

The American dream is dead.

[B4Ranch]

Would you please NAME THE COMPANY!

[B4Ranch]

The American dream is dead with Republicans holding majority seats in the Congress and the Senate under the watchful eyes of a Republican President!

Anyone who votes Republican or Democrat is helping to kill America.

[B4Ranch]