Old North News

Two North Carolina credit unions are helping illegal aliens obtain mortgages, with at least one of those credit unions helping the illegals get tax ID numbers, as new polling finds the majority of voters in the Old North state believe that immigration has not improved their quality of life.

Nearly 9 in 10 North Carolina voters believe immigration does not make the quality of life better in the state, according to a June poll by American Greatness.

Only 13% of North Carolina voters believe immigration “makes the quality of life in North Carolina better” and 37% of the state’s voters said immigration makes the quality of life in the state worse.

A September poll by the same organization found that immigration was among the top two most important issues for North Carolina voters. 

North Carolina Credit Unions Lending to Illegal Aliens

Amid voters’ quality of life concerns, the Durham-based Latino Community Credit Union (LCCU) and Self-Help Credit Union (SHCU) are helping illegal aliens obtain mortgages to finance homes in the state.

LCCU is a tax-exempt 501(c)(14) nonprofit that has received more than $11 million in taxpayer-funded grants from the federal government during the last decade.

Restoration News reporter Victoria Manning reported in May that her publication “spoke directly with a LCCU representative about what would be needed for an ‘undocumented immigrant’ to obtain a mortgage.” 

“We were provided with this link and were informed the client would ‘need to have at least a tax ID’ and they even offered to process the tax ID on behalf of the client,” reported Manning.

Elon University lists LCCU as a financial institution that “offers loans that undocumented immigrants can apply for to cover the cost of their DACA application.”

Also listed is SHCU, which is a co-founding organization of LCCU. LCCU’s current president, Vicky Garcia, formerly served on SHCU’s board, according to Durham Reporter. 

“Self-­Help Federal Credit Union offers loans that undocumented immigrants can apply for to cover the cost of their DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) application and loans to help cover the cost of the citizenship application process,” says the Elon website.

In an Aug. 2014 article, MSNBC also reported that LCCU "offers mortgages to immigrants irrespective of their immigration status." That same article reported about SHCU helping a man "without legal immigration status" obtain a 30-year mortgage on a home in Durham.

Heeding the Guidance of the CFPB

Credit unions that lend to illegal aliens are heeding the guidance of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra, who has said it is illegal for financial institutions to use “immigration status” of loan applicants during their vetting process.

“Immigration status can’t be used as some sort of pretext to discriminate against people illegally,” said Chopra, an appointee of President Joe Biden (D),  in a June hearing before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee. “We’re really worried when someone uses a type of characteristic to discriminate against a whole protected class as a ruse.”

His testimony followed a joint statement issued last year with U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, titled, “Joint Statement on Fair Lending Opportunities for Noncitizen Borrowers under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.”

Illegal Aliens and ‘Federal-Only Ballots’

Current North Carolina law bans noncitizens from voting in the state, so what happens if an illegal alien with a mortgage and, thus, a local address, plus a tax I.D., tries to vote in North Carolina? 

Dr. Andy Jackson of the Raleigh-based John Locke Foundation said “that even though it’s a felony to lie on a voter registration form about the status of your citizenship, it’s difficult to enforce,” Old North News reported in June.

Enter the “federal-only ballot.”

A federal-only ballot is a type of ballot used in U.S. elections that allows eligible voters to vote only for federal offices, such as president, vice president, U.S. senators, and U.S. representatives. 

These ballots are typically used by voters who meet federal voting requirements but do not fulfill state or local requirements, such as certain deadlines for voter registration or residency. For example, in some cases, voters who have recently moved to a state or who are voting from abroad may only qualify for a federal-only ballot.

Ned Ryun, founder of American Majority Action, raised concerns earlier this year about federal-only ballots in another presidential election “swing” state — Arizona. 

“A form from Arizona’s AHCCCS (Medicaid office) very explicitly telling folks that if their citizenship status cannot be confirmed, no worries. We’ll make sure to send you a ‘federal-only’ ballot,” Ryun posted on X. 

The form from the Arizona AHCCCS office, shared by Ryun, details that proof of citizenship is required by 5 p.m. on the Thursday before Election Day in order to vote with “a full ballot,” which includes “all federal, state, county, and local races and ballot questions for which you are eligible to vote.”

However, if an individual does not submit proof of citizenship but is registered to vote, they will “receive a ‘federal-only’ ballot.

The Arizona Secretary of State’s office told Grand Canyon Times that voters receiving a federal-only ballot for the 2024 General Election do so in light of a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court decision.

“Many of these folks are college students who come here from out of state and don’t have proof of citizen documents. You’ll find many of them within the tribal communities, too,” Aaron Thacker of the Secretary of State’s Office said regarding the issuance of federal-only ballots.

Lawsuit Over NC Voter ID

Concerns over illegal aliens voting in North Carolina elections spurred the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the North Carolina GOP (NCGOP) to file a lawsuit against the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE), alleging violations of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) due to improper handling of voter identification. 

The lawsuit claims the NCSBE's failure to require identification information, such as driver's license or Social Security numbers for about 225,000 voters, could allow non-citizens to potentially cast ballots. 

The RNC and NCGOP said the Board did not take corrective measures, while NCSBE officials argue that the lawsuit demands an impractical solution and misrepresents the issues with voter registration. 

Whether or not illegal aliens are finding it easier to vote in U.S. elections because they have mortgages provided to them from credit unions like LCCU and CHCU, the fact remains that the practice could have serious fiscal consequences for U.S. lenders.

Republican vice presidential nominee Senator J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and Republican members of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee last November sent a letter to Chopra and Garland urging them to “reconsider” their missive that encouraged financial institutions to provide mortgages to illegal aliens.

“Financial institutions are right to be concerned that they may never see a return on loans issued to illegal immigrants,” said Vance.  “If someone is deported to their home country, how is a bank in Ohio supposed to recoup the loan it was forced to issue? The federal government should be cracking down on illegal immigration – not encouraging more of it.”