Posted on 08/28/2003 10:29:49 PM PDT by kattracks
The American dream of home ownership, complete with the white picket fence, is alive and well for those who break our laws and break down our fences to get in.
Last week, The Washington Post published a rosy front-page tale headlined, "Illegal Immigrants Buy Into Homeowning Dream." The article detailed how illegal aliens in the Washington, D.C., area are successfully hooking up with cunning mortgage brokers and complicit lenders to secure home loans. Despite federal laws making it illegal to violate the borders, overstay visas, and recruit, harbor and encourage illegal aliens, the Post notes that the illegal alien home loan schemes are "legal."
Here we are, nearly two years after the September 11 terrorist attacks underscored the need for consistent immigration law enforcement, and the lesson continues to be ignored in the nation's capital.
The Post's heart-warming story began:
"Gerardo Cabrera fell in love with the house immediately. There was the bay window in the living room, the fireplace in the den, and -- most enchanting to a man raised amid the concrete of Mexico City -- the woods in the back yard. And so the auto mechanic and his wife, a secretary, decided to pay $200,000 for their own piece of suburban Gaithersburg, a classic tale of immigrants achieving the American dream. Except for one detail: At the time, they were in the United States illegally."
While law-abiding homebuyers must supply airtight proof of identity, legal residence and a Social Security number to lenders, illegal alien purchasers such as Cabrera (a visa overstayer who recently received a green card) need only supply a "taxpayer identification number" (TIN) issued by the Internal Revenue Service. No criminal background check is required before applying for a TIN, which many banks now accept from illegal alien customers as a primary form of identification.
Cabrera's broker, Alma Preciado of Metropolitan Financial Services in Silver Spring, told the Post that about 10 percent of her mainly Latino clientele qualify for home loans using a TIN instead of a Social Security number.
That's just the tip of the illegal alien homeowners' iceberg. The Post failed to note that Federal Housing Administration-approved loans through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development do not require lenders to obtain proof of citizenship or legal permanent residence. These FHA/HUD programs, primarily targeting minorities and first-time homebuyers, are federally insured and require minimal down payments.
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 homeowners in this country thanks to these programs, all fully insured by our government. Because of fear of lawsuits for discrimination I can also tell you that a lender may have a borrower who speaks little or no English who claims to be either a citizen or resident alien and it will not be questioned nor any proof required. Since FHA does not require any such documentation, a lender cannot cite their regulations as a basis for the request as they can on conventional loans."
Another easy avenue to home ownership is through the use of bogus Social Security cards. Moneylenders have no access to a verification system to check Social Security numbers before approving loans. A Department of Homeland Security investigator informs me that an ongoing federal probe of FHA/HUD-backed loans found that "a staggering number were approved to persons with false Social Security numbers." The Denver metro area alone accounted for 20,000 to 40,000 of the FHA-approved loans for suspected illegal aliens. "Even if a small percentage of the loans were foreclosed, HUD could be bankrupted," the homeland security official said.
A spokeswoman for the U.S. General Accounting Office told me this week that the agency's office of special investigations plans to report on the results of the probe later this fall. But "considering the size of Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Houston, and other large cities throughout the United States known to be inundated with illegal aliens," says my source, "I don't think the federal government is willing to expose this problem for financial reasons as well as for fear of political repercussions."
America: Still the world's home sweet illegal alien home.
©2003 Creators Syndicate, Inc.
We'll just have to wonder whether or not they had called for the nuking of Mexico City. ;-)
Yep, JR operated under the conservative flag until GW proved not to be conservative at all. No need to pretend anymore.
Richard W.
I like being here. I'm comfortable. I don't want to rock the boat. A warning is necessary for those who don't know that rocking the boat in the immigration threads can possibly get you banned.
I feel this website attracts lots of good conservatives. It's important to stay and make our voice known. And as you said the RNC is paying attention. That's a good thing.
Since I live in a place that is extremely liberal, FR is one of the only outlets I have to express my conservative opinion (though there are other websites, LP, etc) this one gathers the most conservatives. I've met other SF conservatives here.
Cheers.
Nothing is going to happen as a result of this. Absolutely, positively nothing.
Your Federal government at work yet again.
If it's a government guaranteed loan, or they're just going to sell it someone else, why should they diligently check?
It's about transaction fees and transaction volume.
On the other hand, if you've got really good credit and assets, maybe they'll decide to keep the loan for themselves.
See how it works? The government (taxpayers) and MBS buyers will be left holding most of the crap.
Yep, all those loans are just being packaged and sold to someone else who repackages them and sells them again until they reach the ultimate bagholder -- Joe-6-packs mutual fund. Sweet how they work that.
Richard W.
It's not about driving, it's about lending. Lending to a large, relatively untapped, California market.
As an example, the wireless phone industry in California will strike a subscriber bonanza. Today, no credit history, no conventional plan. With the liscense comes access to conventional wireless plans. Ditto homes, new cars, major home appliances and much, much more.
So NOW when illegal aliens are linked to the GSE problem Freepers get fired up. Meanwhile, I slave away posting OFHEO systemic risk studies that muster a measly 10 replies.
I don't why I bother. sniff...whimper..
No one is going to relate to "systemic risk studies" of the GSE's until it hits them in the wallet. Now, illegals on the other hand, are a hot button topic. If you could maybe throw in and make some vague sex and Iraq references to your GSE posts, you would get more responses.
Richard W.
read later bump
Better not. It will sicken you
How do you know that
A) They're illegals
and
B) the particulars of their financing?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.