First-time homebuyers in Oregon are being encouraged to apply for a taxpayer-funded $30,000 grant for down payment assistance – but only non-U.S. citizens need apply.
Latino-led housing support group Hacienda Community Development Corporation in Portland is advertising the perk through its Camino a Casa program, which stipulates that it is “only for people who are not American citizens.”
“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,” according to the group.
Republican Oregon state Rep. Ed Diehl called the effort “state-sponsored discrimination” and noted that he is “appalled that the hard-earned, limited tax dollars of Oregonians are being used to prioritize home ownership for certain non-US citizens,” according to the Daily Caller.
The funds come from the state’s tax-funded Economic Equity Investment Program, a program that aims to build economic equity for disadvantaged people, which allocated a $692,775 grant to Hacienda.
Republican elected officials in Oregon, a blue state, are taking steps to repeal some of the state’s sanctuary laws.
