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The western state where migrants get $30,000 homebuyer grants but citizens are excluded
Oregonians have reacted angrily to a taxpayer-funded scheme that doles out $30,000 for non-legal migrants to buy homes, but excludes US citizens.
Hacienda Community Development Corporation, a Latino-led group in Portland, says in a promotion that it will give first-time home buyers up to $30,000 to get on the property ladder.
But there's a catch, the advert adds.
The scheme is 'only for people who are not American citizens.'
It is instead open to refugees, asylum seekers, Green Card holders, and those who arrived in the US illegally as children, the post says.
Hacienda CDC helps migrant families get on Oregon's property ladder, but US citizens are excluded
Hacienda's promotional material says the $30,000 grants are 'only for people who are not American citizens.'
The revelation comes as unchecked migration and border security emerge as top issues in the 2024 presidential election.
Americans are worried about the record-breaking surge of migrants under the Biden administration, and services getting strained by newcomers seeking handouts.
Oregon state representative Ed Diehl is among those to say he's 'appalled' at the scheme, which he said was funded through the state's tax-funded Economic Equity Investment Program (EEIP).
'American citizens in Oregon are struggling to find and buy a home,' posted the Republican.
'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 homeownership for certain non-US citizens.'
Hacienda and its CEO Ernesto Fonseca, who hails from an impoverished part of Mexico, did not answer The Mail's requests for comment.
The post was unearthed and shared on X earlier this month by a community information group called Oregon Citizen.
The group says it was being shared quietly through schools so that the immigrant parents of students could find out about it.
Like across much of the US, buying a home has become a stretch for many residents of Oregon.
The typical home price jumped more than 1 percent to $502,500 this year, but they easily exceed $1 million in Lake Oswego and other fancy zip-codes.
Zillow ranks Portland, the state's largest city, as among the worst 10 metropolitan areas for housing.
Oregon state representative Ed Diehl, a Republican, says he's 'appalled' that US citizens don't qualify
The average Oregon home price jumped more than 1 percent to $502,500 this year
Of course, homes are just as expensive for US citizens as they are for foreigners living in Oregon.
But using taxpayers' money to help migrants while excluding citizens was too much for some X users, who responded to the revelations with disbelief.
'This isn't real is it?' posted one user.
'How is this even remotely possible?' asked another.
Hacienda is in-part funded through the EEIP, which was created through Oregon's Economic Equity Investment Act of 2022.
It receives millions of dollars from Oregon state taxes and also from federal taxes through the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The EEIP received $15 million at launch and was allocated another $8 million this year.
That money is distributed through Hacienda and other groups that deliver 'culturally responsive services,' according to Oregon Senate Bill 1579.
The funds are aimed at supporting 'economic stability, self-sufficiency, wealth building, and economic equity among disadvantaged individuals, families, businesses, and communities.'
Hacienda was funded through Business Oregon and EEIP to the tune of $692,775 this year, Oregon Citizen says.
The group did not reply to our questions about excluding US citizens from its home loan schemes.
It was founded in 1992 and aims to get poor 'immigrants and communities of color' into homes, says its website.
Immigration has become a key issue in Oregon, with state Republicans moving to repeal some of the state's sanctuary laws, which protect some migrants from deportation.
Still, voters in the Beaver State have nuanced views about migrants.
Polling by Portland firm DHM Research in April 2023 showed that about half of voters say illegal immigration is a serious problem.
Hacienda's CEO Ernesto Fonseca hails from an impoverished part of Mexico and says he wants to get more migrants onto the property ladder
In some of Oregon's fancier zip codes, the typical property value is already above $1 million.
But a majority of voters said at the time they supported Oregon maintaining its sanctuary status, and nearly 60 percent said immigration was positive for the country.
Studies have shown that legal migrants pay taxes and help to grow America's economy. Still, other research has shown that non-legal migrants can place a burden on social services.
The Biden Administration released the latest border crossing numbers last week, showing a 32 percent drop in migrants caught in July — what the feds call the 'lowest number since September 2020.'
The staggering decrease in migrant crossings comes four years into the worst border crisis the US has ever seen — with historic numbers of migrants arriving at the nation's border's seeking entry — including a huge number of asylum seekers.
Since October 2021, over 10 million migrants have crossed into the US, according to federal statistics — straining the federal agencies that handle migrants and bringing border communities, like El Paso, Texas, to its knees.
Since January, the Mexican government has stepped up efforts to stop mostly South and Central American migrants traveling through its country on their way to the US.
Pressured by the Biden Administration, Mexican officials have set up checkpoints to find migrants on northbound buses and trains and return them to the Mexico-Guatemala international boundary.
In June, the White House announced changes how migrants could seek asylum at the border.
Any migrant who did not legally enter the US would be removed and not allowed to seek asylum.