California isn't allowing illegal immigrants to buy homes without payment

What is the claim?

A post circulating on social media claims that the California State Senate approved a bill allowing illegal migrants to buy homes with zero down payment and zero interest. One Instagram user shared a post with several slides on September 8, the first of which read, "DID YOU SEE THIS? California State Senate approves bill allowing illegal immigrants to buy homes with $0 down payment and 0% interest." The third slide claims that 20 million illegal immigrants entered the United States in the last four years. An archived version of the post can be accessed here. 

A screenshot of a social media post. (Source: Instagram/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the claim is misleading. The bill, Assembly Bill-1840, which would have allowed undocumented citizens to buy homes in California, was initially approved in the senate on August 27 but was vetoed by Governor Gavin Newsom on September 6, long before the the post was published by the Instagram account.

The bill and its fate

Our research revealed that the post was talking about Assembly Bill-1840, which was passed in the California state senate by a 25-14 vote on August 27. The bill clarifies that applicants for loans under a state program offering assistance to first-time homebuyers, the California Dream for All Program, cannot be disqualified solely based on their immigration status. 

The Instagram post says that illegal immigrants can buy homes with zero percent interest and zero down payment. This is partially true; the shared appreciation loan covers 20 percent of the purchase price or up to 150,000 dollars, whichever is less, for a down payment or closing costs. This also means the only interest first-time homebuyers have to pay is 15-20 percent of the home's value appreciation, upon sale of the property. However, the next slide of the post insinuates that homes are being "given away for free by Kamala Harris", which is not true. As mentioned, home buyers have to pay back the original loan amount, plus 20 percent of any home value appreciation. 

Further, the post insinuates that such benefits are being extended to immigrants by using the money from tax-paying Americans. However, while the program has received state funding, it is run by the California Housing Finance Agency, an independent state agency within the California Department of Housing and Community Development, which, according to its website, generates revenue through mortgage loans and not from taxpayers.

Further, the post, despite being dated September 8, is missing the context that on September 6, California Governor Newsom vetoed the bill. Newsom wrote in a letter, "Given the finite funding available for CalHFA programs, expanding program eligibility must be carefully considered within the broader context of the annual budget to ensure we manage our resources effectively. 

Did 20 million illegal immigrants enter the U.S. in the last four years?

Several think thanks and immigration groups have released data on unauthorized immigrants in the U.S., and while they vary in their estimates owing to differences in methodology, none of them support the claim that 20 million immigrants have entered the U.S. in the last four years.

The Pew Research Center reported in July 2024 that in 2022, the unauthorized immigrant population in the U.S. grew to 11.0 million, up from 10.5 million in 2021. Their data was based on the 2022 American Community Survey, the most recent year available. 

A report released by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in April 2024 estimated that as of January 2022, 11 million unauthorized immigrants were living in the U.S., up from the 10.5 million estimated in January 2020. 

In March 2024, the Migration Policy Institute reported that in 2021, there were 11.2 million unauthorized immigrants in the U.S., up from 11 million in 2019. 

In January 2024, the Center for Migration Studies of New York noted that the undocumented population grew from 10.3  million in 2021 to 10.9  million in 2022, an increase of 650,000. 

A November 2023 report by the Center for Immigration Studies estimated that the illegal population grew from 10.2 million in January 2021 to 12.6 million by May 2023.

Lastly, a June 2023 report by the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which advocates for reduced immigration, estimated that the immigrant population was at 16.8 million in that month.

While all the reports note an upward trend in the number of unauthorized migrants in the U.S., the claim that 20 million people illegally entered the U.S. in the last four years is false.

The verdict

The bill that would have allowed undocumented immigrants to buy homes in California was vetoed by the Governor. Although the bill was initially passed in the Senate, the governor didn't sign it.