By Hannah Davis
FAIR
The California legislature is nearing a final vote on legislation that will help illegal aliens purchase homes. AB 1840, sponsored by Representative Joaquin Arambula (D-31), expands eligibility for the California Dream for All loan program to illegal aliens.
California’s Dream for All loan program, launched last year, provides interest-free loans to borrowers, who are not required to make monthly payments. However, when the borrower refinances or sells the home, he or she must repay the original loan amount along with an additional 20 percent reflecting the appreciation in the home’s value. That said, the program lacks provisions regarding how long a property can be held, raising concerns that certain trusts might allow a loan to remain unpaid if a family retains the property for an extended period.
AB 1840, which would make illegal aliens eligible for these loans, passed the California House in May by a vote of 56-15 and was sent to the Senate. In the California Senate, it has passed the Housing, Judiciary, and Appropriations Committees and appears headed this week for a full vote on the Senate floor. An analysis by The California Senate Appropriations Committee warns that the bill could impose “unknown significant cost pressures, potentially in the millions annually,” due to the expanded eligibility. FAIR estimates that over 3.5 million illegal aliens live in California.
The sponsor of AB 1840, Representative Arambula, believes that “home ownership fosters generational wealth,” and says that it should be “a right available to everyone, regardless of legal status.”
Senator Brian Dahle, (R-1), expressed his opposition on X, stating, “Assembly Bill 1840 is an insult to California citizens who are being left behind and priced out of homeownership. I’m all for helping first-time homebuyers, but give priority to those who are here in our state legally.”
In addition to providing home loans for illegal aliens, the California legislature is also considering a bill that requires the state to develop an unemployment benefits program for illegal aliens. The Safety Net for All Workers Act, SB 227, requires the Employment Development Department (EDD) to develop a plan by January 1, 2026, that would create a permanent program to “provide cash assistance that resembles unemployment insurance benefits to unemployed workers who are ineligible for unemployment insurance due to their immigration status.”
In sum, the bill directs the EDD to develop a plan to provide benefits to illegal aliens for jobs they are not even legally entitled to hold. Federal law has prohibited employers from hiring illegal aliens since 1986.
Not only does providing state unemployment benefits undermine the very purpose of our federal laws, it will cost California taxpayers hundreds of millions each year. While the proposed program has since been amended, original estimates suggested it could cost upwards of $356 million per year, to be taken from the state’s taxpayer-backed general fund. The estimate is still expected to remain relevant. The EDD is over $20 billion in debt.
The bill will increase taxes for California-based employers not only because it provides unemployment benefits, but it also expands their scope. According to an analysis of the bill by Bailey Law, “the new bill increases the pool of ‘unemployment benefits’ applicants, allows undocumented employees to meet a lower threshold for obtaining unemployment benefits, and actively ignores the propensity for fraud in these instances.” These programs, designed to reward illegal aliens, are far from foolproof.
SB 227 has passed the Senate and the bill could soon receive a vote in the Assembly.
The California legislature is also considering making illegal aliens eligible for food stamps. Senator Melissa Hurtado (D-16)) has introduced SB 245, which broadens the scope of California’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly called the food stamps program) to include illegal aliens.
SB 245 bill would expand eligibility to California’s food stamps program, called CalFresh, beginning on October 1, 2027. Illegal aliens 55 and older are already eligible for CalFresh benefits thanks to a 2022 deal between lawmakers and Governor Gavin Newsom. According to the Legislative Analyst’s Office, the total cost of administering CalFresh in 2020‑21 was $2.1 billion with $1 billion from federal funds, $740 million from the state’s general fund, and the remaining $290 million from county funds. With the potential passage of SB 245, the cost of the program is expected to rise further.
The Appropriations Committee held a hearing on SB 245 on August 15 and held the bill under submission. When the bill is held under submission, there is an indication that there is a desire to work on the bill further.
California’s quest to expand benefits to illegal aliens forces Americans living there to subsidize illegal immigration in many ways. Illegal alien residents already qualify for in-state tuition, driver’s licenses, and tax-payer funded health care. Now the California legislature is considering bills to provide home loans, unemployment benefits, and food stamps to illegal aliens. It’s no wonder that California has the largest illegal alien population in the U.S. They come illegally and Americans pay for it.
