DHS Secretary: ‘The Gravy Train Is Over’ on Mortgages for Illegal Aliens
Trump admin reverses Biden-era policy on government-backed loans
By Andrew R. Arthur on April 4, 2025
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) sent a letter last week to the U.S. real estate and mortgage industry, “updating its residency requirements for Borrower eligibility for [Federal Housing Authority or “FHA”] insured loans”. A National Review headline, which the department itself quoted, aptly summarizes the update: “HUD Cracks Down on Government-Backed Mortgages for Illegal Immigrants”. It’s high time, and now HUD is partnering with DHS to make it stick.
FHA’s Role in the Mortgage Industry
When most think of the “American dream”, it usually involves a spouse, a car or two, a dog and/or cat, 2.5 kids, wi-fi, and what the late comedian George Carlin referred to as “a place for my stuff”, that is, a home.
Homes, however, can be expensive, and for many Americans on the lower end of the economic ladder, prohibitively so.
That’s where FHA and its assistance programs come in. As Investopedia explains, an FHA loan:
is a home mortgage that is insured by the government and issued by a bank or other lender approved by the agency. FHA loans require a lower minimum down payment than many conventional loans, and applicants may have lower credit scores than the best mortgage lenders usually require. FHA loans are designed to help low- to moderate-income families attain homeownership, and they are particularly popular with first-time homebuyers.
Put simply, private lenders loan the money for that dream home, and the FHA backs it up in case of default.
https://cis.org/Arthur/DHS-Secretary-Gravy-Train-Over-Mortgages-Illegal-Aliens
