A first-in-the-nation California proposal could make undocumented immigrants eligible for up to $150,000 in state-supported home loans just as immigration has become an incendiary topic in the presidential election.
The measure is likely to pass the California Legislature this week where Democrats enjoy a supermajority and in a state that has the largest share of undocumented immigrants in the country.
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, a top surrogate for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, declined to say whether he would sign the measure if it clears the statehouse by the Aug. 31 deadline. He would likely make a decision while Republican nominee Donald Trump criticizes Harris over the influx in migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border early on in Biden’s tenure and as Harris moves to the right on immigration.
Harris, in her DNC acceptance speech Thursday said the country can “live up to our proud heritage as a nation of immigrants, and reform our broken immigration system.” While the California proposal targets prospective homebuyers and not new migrants, it could nonetheless carry a political risk for Harris by providing fodder for Trump as he seizes on anything that could link his opponent to the border crisis.