Taxpayer-Funded Group Offers $30,000 To New Homebuyers — As Long As They Aren’t US Citizens

By Daily Caller News Foundation
Taxpayer-Funded Group Offers $30,000 To New Homebuyers — As Long As They Aren’t US Citizens

By Mary Rooke

Hacienda Community Development Corp. is participating in a taxpayer-funded down payment assistance program that gives money to non-citizens to buy homes in Oregon while excluding American citizens from eligibility, according to records provided to the Daily Caller.

Hacienda CDC is reportedly offering $30,000 for down payment assistance for eligible new homebuyers through their Camino a Casa program, according to a screenshot first reported by X user Oregon Citizen. “Clients work closely with financial coaches and HUD-certified housing counselors throughout the entirety of the homebuying process. In addition to mortgage readiness and financial fitness workshops, we provide various opportunities for down-payment assistance,” the organization states.

The eligibility requirements include being a non-citizen. Republican Oregon state Rep. Ed Diehl told the Daily Caller he received confirmation from Business Oregon that Hacienda CDC is using these funds for non-citizens while excluding American citizens.

“American citizens in Oregon are struggling to find and buy a home. We have a severe housing shortage in this state. I am appalled that the hard-earned, limited tax dollars of Oregonians are being used to prioritize home ownership for certain non-US citizens. Oregon can’t end this state-sponsored discrimination soon enough,” Diehl told the Daily Caller.

Hacienda CDC is partially funded through the Economic Equity Investment Program (EEIP), an equity-based beneficiary project established through the Economic Equity Investment Act (SB 1579), which the Oregon legislature passed in 2022. The organization receives millions in Oregon state taxpayer money and federal taxes through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), according to its recent annual report. (ROOKE: Harris Quietly Trying To Cover Up Major Election Bomb That Could End Her Honeymoon)

The EEIP was initially given $15 million to distribute to organizations that would uphold their equity requirements and help individuals buy land and property, start businesses, and build intergenerational wealth. In 2024, the state legislature allocated another $8 million to the EEIP to fund organizations, including Hacienda CDC, that provide “culturally responsive services to support economic stability, self-sufficiency, wealth building, and economic equity among disadvantaged individuals, families, businesses, and communities.”

Critics told the Daily Caller that the act allows organizations like Hacienda CDC to discriminate against residents based on race and citizenship status. Participants have to be considered part of a disadvantaged community, which includes non-citizens, to be eligible to receive EEIP funding, according to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) answered by Business Oregon. “Citizenship status is considered an economic equity risk factor, so non-citizens residing in Oregon are eligible beneficiaries,” the website states.

The organization’s actions appear to violate its contract with the state by denying an application based on citizenship if the participant meets the other criteria, according to the contract viewed by the Daily Caller. “Recipient shall consider all eligible beneficiaries (meeting 2 or more economic equity risk factors) as described in Exhibit A and shall not refuse to work with individuals, families, businesses, or communities based on protected class considerations,” the contract states. U.S. citizens are eligible for these benefits, according to the EEIP guidelines.

Hacienda CDC works with credit unions that offer mortgage loans for non-citizens who cannot get a social security number. Instead, these credit unions use an IRS loophole by processing the mortgage with Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs). (ROOKE: Police Association In Blue State Is Finally Fed Up With Mayor)

Andrew Quinio, an attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation, a public interest law firm, told the Daily Caller that while he hasn’t personally investigated Hacienda CDC’s possible discriminatory practices in detail, he believes Oregon has a recent pattern of racially discriminatory policies and programs that violate residents’ constitutional rights.

“Oregon cannot treat individuals differently based on race except in very rare exceptions, nor can it have groups do so on its behalf,” Quinio said. “The Legislative Counsel’s analysis raised important questions of whether the EEIP would survive a court challenge, given that its apparent intent and application is to provide assistance to groups that assist only individuals of specific races. The Constitution forbids the government from advantaging or disadvantaging individuals based on race, either directly or indirectly this way.”

The most recent data from the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis shows that in the state’s largest market, the Portland metro, only 19% of residents can afford a median-sized home with a 5% down payment. Other markets, like Bend (Deschutes County), Salem (Marion County), Eugene (Lane County), and Medford (Jackson County), are experiencing similar drops in the number of residents able to afford to buy a home.

“We have the worst affordability,” state economist Josh Lehner told Oregon Public Broadcasting. “Low vacancies and high prices is indicative of a housing shortage. And I think that’s clearly what we’ve been in for a while now.”

Oregon is one of many states suffering from a housing shortage. The U.S. needs to build 4.5 million new homes to address its housing deficit, according to Zillow.

“The simple fact is there are not enough homes in this country, and that’s pushing homeownership out of reach for too many families,” said Orphe Divounguy, senior economist at Zillow.

But in Oregon, taxpayers are subsidizing home buying opportunities for illegal immigrants while millions of Americans are unable to afford to buy houses.

C2023466 Hacienda CDC Contr… by Mary Rooke

 

Daily Caller News Foundation

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