With more than 12 million illegal immigrants estimated to be living in this country, it’s certainly a question worth posing. Determining the impact of illegal workers on unemployment rates, healthcare costs, and other social and economic sectors is difficult enough, due to the nature of them being “undocumented”. There are numerous arguments both for and against illegal immigration and each has merit, in my opinion. Let’s face it; it’s a controversial topic, and one that pushes the hot buttons of a lot of individuals.
So… can we find any evidence that illegals have impacted our country-wide (pun intended here) credit crunch? In recent years, banks across the country have begun offering checking accounts and, in some cases, mortgages to the nation’s fast-growing ranks of undocumented immigrants, most of whom are Hispanic. These immigrants generally haven’t been able to get major credit cards, making it hard for them to develop a credit history and expand their purchasing power. A few banks and mortgage providers, including Banco Popular and now Citibank, have started programs that allow illegal immigrants to buy homes by using an identifier issued by the IRS, known as the Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). The ITIN number is usually issued to individuals who may file tax returns but are not eligible to get a Social Security Number.
Good statistics are hard to come by, but there is an indication that a number of illegal immigrants have managed to become homeowners. Recent interviews of Mexican immigrants at Mexican Consulates across the United States found that 10 percent of those with no valid U.S. identification own their homes, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.
Well, I don’t know about you, but it seems to me that the credit crunch may be one of the few scenarios that we just can’t pin on undocumented workers. After all, how many of have even had a chance to destroy their credit, given that they haven’t been afforded the opportunity to build any.
But we welcome all your ideas and views on this subject, so get your wheels turning!
Popularity: 21% [?]
2 responses so far ↓
1 the 48th ronin // Aug 13, 2008 at 7:20 am
“Good statistics are hard to come by, but there is an indication that a number of illegal immigrants have managed to become homeowners. Recent interviews of Mexican immigrants at Mexican Consulates across the United States found that 10 percent of those with no valid U.S. identification own their homes, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.”
Excuse me, but is this another rewrite the meaning of words trick…
If there are anywhere from 12 to 35 million illegal aliens living in the USA , and a percentage of them have mortgages . Theye are a major part of the credit crisis as enforcment causes them to either be deported, or lose their jobs they illegaly hold.
Indications of that started when Arizona passed the must e-verify law and illegals started decamping those houses they “owned” taking all the furniture and appliances as loot back to Mexico.
2 Rebel // Aug 13, 2008 at 8:57 am
A lot of them may not have had time to ruin their own credit, but a lot of them have had tons of time to ruin the credit and lives of the person’s social security number they’ve been using for various purposes.
Leave a Comment