A taxpayer-funded development group is reportedly offering $30,000 for down payment assistance to non-citizen residents in Oregon. American citizens need not apply.
On Wednesday, the Daily Caller reported the Hacienda Community Development Corp. is doling out the benefits for new migrant homebuyers through the group’s “Camino a Casa program.”
“Clients work closely with financial coaches and HUD-certified housing counselors throughout the entirety of the home-buying process,” the program website reads. “In addition to mortgage readiness and financial fitness workshops, we provide various opportunities for down-payment assistance.”
Non-citizen status is required for eligibility to participate in the taxpayer funded program, according to a resident post on X by Oregon Citizen. State Rep. Ed Diehl, R-Ore., told the Daily Caller he confirmed with a local business group that citizens were excluded, despite Americans coping with “a severe housing shortage in this state.”
“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 Daily Caller reported. “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.”
The Hacienda Community Development Corp. did not respond to The Federalist’s request for comment.
The EEIP was awarded an additional $8 million from the state legislature earlier this year, with Hacienda CDC listed as a beneficiary of taxpayer handouts for “culturally responsive services to support economic stability, self-sufficiency, wealth building, and economic equity among disadvantaged individuals, families, businesses, and communities,” according to the Caller.
Zillow ranks Portland, the state’s largest city, as among the worst 10 metropolitan areas for housing. More than 10 million illegal immigrants have entered the country under President Joe Biden adding stress to the shortage.
The Washington Examiner reported this month on the border crisis undermining efforts to provide affordable housing.
“Some estimates suggest immigration may increase overall housing demand by around 500,000 units per year,” the Examiner reported. “As a result, housing costs and rents have seen additional increases in areas most affected by mass immigration, such as Miami and Denver, which have struggled to deal with massive influxes of migrants since 2021.”
Republicans on Capitol Hill are now trying to leverage the federal government’s vast ownership of public land to build new homes. Rep. John Curtis, R-Utah, proposed legislation to allow the sale of federal property to state and local governments to embark on home construction. The proposal would offer western states flexibility to address the housing crisis. Over 90 percent of all federal land lies west of the Mississippi River, and Oregon has one of the highest levels of federal land ownership in the country, with more than half the state under the jurisdiction of bureaucrats in Washington, D.C.
