Pastor Jack Hibbs of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills thanked Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom late Friday for vetoing a bill that would have given up to $150,000 to illegal immigrants as a down payment for home loans.
On Friday, Newsom vetoed AB 1840, which would have expanded the California Dream for All program that would have given illegal immigrants who were first-time homebuyers up to 20% of a home’s value or as much as $150,000 as a down payment on a house.
In a short letter to the California State Assembly on Friday, Newsom explained why he vetoed the bill, noting in part that the home loan program already has limited funds.
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“This bill seeks to prohibit the disqualification of applicants from one of California Housing Finance Agency’s (CalHFA) home purchase assistance programs based solely on their immigration status,” Newsome said in the veto letter.
“Given the finite funding available for CalHFA programs, expanding program eligibility must be carefully considered within the broader context of the annual state budget to ensure we manage our resources effectively.
“For this reason, I am unable to sign the bill.”
In a lengthy post on X that began in all caps, the Calvary Chapel Chino Hills pastor wrote: “FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER IN MY LIFE — I am going to thank and complement California Governor Gavin Newsom.”
Writing for himself and on “behalf of millions of Californians,” Hibbs thanked the governor, saying he didn’t know why he decided to veto the “terrible” bill, but it showed Californians that he can “be a man of conviction and courage as you lead your own California Democrat [P]arty.”
Hibbs, an outspoken megachurch pastor who recently urged his congregation not to vote for Democrats, said he will pray that Newsom “will continue to do the right thing here in California” and urged the governor to secure the state’s southern border and help reduce illegal immigration so that “our communities and our children can be safe again.”
Some Democrats in the state Assembly defended the bill’s effort to give illegal immigrants the same opportunities to receive housing benefits as other California residents.
“It isn’t given out willy nilly to just anybody,” Democrat Assemblymember Eloise Gómez Reyes said during a hearing on the bill in June, according to Fox News.
During an appearance on HBO’s “Real Time” with host Bill Maher last Friday, House Speaker Emerita Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said that “making the American Dream of home ownership available to all people is something we have to do for people who are here now.” She added that those who are in the state illegally should have their status changed to “documented.”
Maher pushed back on Pelosi’s assertion and the lawmakers who passed AB1840, noting that giving home loans to immigrants who are in the country illegally positions the Democratic Party to “a different place than the [party] used to be on immigration.”
Following a brief back-and-forth about immigration and housing, Pelosi said the bill sought to make “the American Dream […] available to more people.” She added that while she wasn’t “familiar” with the details of the bill, “making the American Dream of home ownership available to all people is something we have to do for people who are here now.”
