Trump says he would ban mortgages for illegal immigrants

During a policy speech at the Economic Club of New York in Manhattan, Republican candidate Donald Trump presented his economic plan and, among other measures, stated that he is ready to ban mortgages for illegal immigrants.

According to Trump, the measure would help reduce high rent and housing prices, which grew at historic rates during the pandemic, and mortgage rates, which also rose to record levels in more than two decades.

During his speech, the former president claimed that "the flood" of illegal immigrants is driving up housing costs.

"That’s why my plan will ban mortgages for illegal aliens," Trump said, without pointing out exactly how he will execute his plan.

"In California, they're passing a law where they're going to give illegal aliens money to buy a house. But our soldiers, our veterans that are laying on the streets, they can't have them," added the former president. He claimed that illegal migrants are consuming hundreds of billions of dollars in benefits.

According to a Wall Street Journal analysis, concern over housing is one of the most important issues for Americans heading into this election cycle. It's the second biggest inflation concern after food.

However, illegal immigrants do not exactly appear to be one of the factors altering market prices due to the minuscule number of mortgages they represent.

According to estimates by researchers at the Urban Institute in Washington, mortgage loans to illegal migrants living in the country are legal but very rare. In 2023, only 5,000 to 6,000 such mortgages were issued.

According to federal government data, that number represents a tiny percentage of all mortgages issued by lenders: more than 3.4 million to all homebuyers in 2023.

For this reason, the former president was criticized by some real estate experts, who believe the measure does not really address the housing problem.