by Richard Manning
The Biden Justice Department along with their cohorts at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) have broken the logic barrier once again as they issued a statement saying illegal immigrants cannot be discriminated against in getting credit.
What?
Credit is based upon the ability to repay the loan. It is a simple concept. If a lender determines that you are a bad risk for repaying a loan, they either charge higher interest rates for that loan or they deny the loan altogether.
No one is a bigger risk than an illegal immigrant as they are subject to deportation during any rational administration. What is more, an illegal immigrant typically does not have the ability to legally work in America – meaning they have no reportable income that can be documented and verified as a bank seeks to determine the ability to repay a loan.
In the Biden fantasy land, it makes sense to flood the country with more than five million illegal aliens many of which operate in a black market economy, but compel financial institutions to risk their financial stability providing credit.
Quoted in a joint statement issued by the Justice Department and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said, “This guidance reminds lenders that denying someone access to credit based solely on their actual or perceived immigrant status may violate federal law.”
Note the key word “may.”
It would seem logical that a guidance directing financial institutions to take on potentially billions of dollars in liabilities from people who are illegally in the country would be based upon the law, not a half-baked left-wing interpretation.
In the same statement, the constitutionally dubious CFPB’s Director Rohit Chopra was more definitive declaring, “The CFPB will not allow companies to use immigration status as an excuse for illegal discrimination.”
Ironically, the same banks that the Justice Department and the CFPB are threatening if they don’t provide loans to illegal aliens would face stiff fines under the federal employment laws if they actually hired those same people.
Once again, the Biden administration demonstrates through this declaration of principles guidance that they don’t care what the laws of the United States are. The fact they chose to issue it using a guidance document rather than going through the legally rigorous and much more enforceable regulatory process shows the illegitimacy of their attempt to strong-arm financial institutions into compliance.
What’s more, the enormous regulatory power of the CFPB over the nation’s financial services institutions provides the heavy stick of enforcement without fear of even minimal congressional oversight or financial accountability.
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Rick Manning is the President of Americans for Limited Government.
